Weekly Economic Summary - 8/6/2018

US stocks logged their 5^th consecutive week of gains last week as investors cheered a full week of positive earnings results. The S&P500 advanced 0.8% while the Nasdaq added 1.0% and the Dow Jones Industrial Average finished mostly flat.

It was an earnings driven week with nearly 30% of the companies in the S&P500 releasing their second quarter reports.  So far it’s been a strong quarter with nearly 80% of companies reporting earnings above analyst expectations. The blended earnings growth rate is up 24% from a year ago and on pace for the second consecutive quarter above 20%. Of note on the earnings front was a strong report from fan favorite Apple Inc. Apple turned in a quarter for the record books, which sent the stock soaring 9.0% on the week and pushing the iPhone maker to a $1 trillion market capitalization.

Investors also cheered a mostly positive economic calendar last week as well. The Federal Reserve painted a picture of a steadily growing US economy and provided commentary on their path for future short-term interest rate hikes. The July jobs report showed the US private sector added 157,000 jobs for the month while the unemployment rate dropped to 3.9% from 4.0%.

All told it was a solid week for investors. The global trade rhetoric took a backseat to the flood of good news coming from the US economy. However, with earnings season winding down, we expect trade to resurface into the main headlines and keep a lid on gains. Even today, we’re seeing the market get off to a slower start as investors fret retaliatory tariffs coming from China.

We hope you have a great week!