Weekly Market Commentary

Stocks gained last week, helped by FDA approval of the Pfizer-BioNTech Covid 19 vaccine. However, that good news was offset on Thursday by an attack at the Kabul Airport in Afghanistan amid the U.S. military exit, resulting in casualties.

Stocks pulled back for the week, but not before the S&P 500 reached a new record high of 4480 on Monday. Small caps and energy shares were losers for the week. There are plenty of negatives weighing on market sentiment including evidence of a slowdown in China, weaker than expected retail sales, and mixed housing data. Adding to concerns are the delta variant and the rise of the Taliban in Afghanistan after a hasty U.S. withdrawal.

Markets gained ground last week, shrugging off the resurgence of COVID-19 and its economic implications. Value stocks outpaced growth peers, with materials leading on a sector basis. On the flip side, energy sold off, and info tech names lagged driven by weaker pricing in semis.

Stocks recorded record gains again last week, helped by large-cap and big tech names. Friday's strong jobs report sparked a rise in long-term interest rates, boosting financials. Employers added 943k jobs in June, well above consensus estimates and unemployment hit a new pandemic low.

Markets were mixed last week, with large caps and tech-focused names reaching record highs before peeling back on Friday to end the week with modest losses. Still, the S&P 500 Index finished the month with its sixth consecutive monthly gain, its longest winning streak since 2018.

U.S. stocks rebounded during the week after a sharp Monday selloff. Early last Monday, the Russell 2000 Index of small-cap stocks was down 10% from its closing high on March 15, marking its first correction in more than a year.