US Equity Markets posted strong gains last week, helped by President Biden's signing of the $1.9 trillion fiscal stimulus package from Congress. As a result, the S&P 500 rose 2.6% for the week and is now up 5.0% for the year. After entering correction territory (down 10% from a recent high) early in the week, the Nasdaq regained its footing, increasing 3.1% for the week to bring its gains for the year to 3.4%. The Russell 2000 (small cap stocks) continued its outperformance, up 7.3% for the week, to bring its gains for the year to 19.1%.
Global Equity Markets rose right along with US markets, benefiting both from the US stimulus package as well as additional monetary support announced by the European Central Bank (ECB). As a result, Developed Markets were up 3.1% for the week and are now up 4.0% for the year. Emerging Markets rose 0.7% for the week and are up 4.4% for the year.
US Interest Rates continued to increase last week, as the stimulus package should result in even stronger economic growth in the US. The yield on the US 10-Year Treasury closed last week at 1.63%, up from 1.56% the prior week.
Of Interest to Us
Consumer inflation for February was relatively tame, as the year-over-year increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) came in at 1.7%, easing some investor concerns around inflation. However, the Producer Price Index (PPI) for February suggests inflation may be coming, as prices for intermediate goods (i.e. inputs for making products) rose 6.6% year-over-year, the highest increase since July 2008.
Market Data
for the week ending 3/12/2021
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