WEEKLY MARKET RECAP – AUGUST 23, 2024
The S&P 500, NASDAQ, and Dow all rose over 1% for the week, continuing their recovery from early August’s rough patch, though they didn’t match the previous week’s strong gains. After a choppy start, stocks rallied Friday following remarks by U.S. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell.
The major U.S. indexes have now recovered nearly all of the ground lost during late July and early August’s volatility. As of Friday’s close, the S&P 500 was within 0.58% of its mid-July record high, the Dow was just 0.06% below its recent peak, and the NASDAQ remained 4.13% shy of its high.
In his speech at Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Fed Chair Jerome Powell stated that “the time has come for policy to adjust,” solidifying expectations for an interest-rate cut at the Fed’s September meeting. He noted that the labor market has cooled while inflation is nearing the Fed’s 2% target.
The rising likelihood of rate cuts fueled volatility in U.S. government bonds, with the 10-year Treasury yield dropping to 3.76% on Wednesday—just above its year-to-date low. The yield had been as high as 4.70% in April when rate cuts seemed more distant.
A revision of U.S. jobs growth data showed the labor market was weaker than initially thought, with employers adding 818,000 fewer jobs in the year ending in March 2024 than previously reported.
Powell’s speech also sparked a rally in small-cap stocks, with the Russell 2000 Index jumping 3% on Friday, outperforming the 1% gains in large-cap indexes.
In the housing market, a recent drop in mortgage rates led to a 1.3% increase in existing home sales in July, breaking a four-month decline. While prices dipped from June, they remained near record levels.
U.S. crude oil prices fell to a six-month low of $71.46 per barrel on Wednesday before rebounding slightly, closing the week below $75—down from $77 the previous week.
Major U.S. Economic Reports
| Report | Period | Actual | Previous |
| U.S. leading economic indicators | July | -0.6% | -0.2% |
| Initial jobless claims | Aug. 17 | 232,000 | 228,000 |
| S&P flash U.S. services PMI | Aug. | 55.2 | 55.0 |
| S&P flash U.S. manufacturing PMI | Aug. | 48.0 | 49.6 |
| Existing home sales | July | 3.95 million | 3.9 million |
| New home sales | July | 739,000 | 617,000 |
Closing Prices for the Week
| Contract | Close |
|---|---|
| Dow Jones Industrials Average | 41,175.08 |
| Nasdaq Composite | 17,877.79 |
| S&P 500 Index | 5,634.61 |
| CBOE Volatility Index | 15.86 |
| S&P GSCI | 540.45 |
| U.S. Dollar Index | 100.718 |
| 10-Year T-Note (Sep ’24) | 113-225 |
| Crude Oil WTI (Oct ’24) | 74.83 |
| Natural Gas (Oct ’24) | 2.180 |
| Gold (Dec ’24) | 2,546.3 |
| Silver (Sep ’24) | 29.820 |
| Corn (Dec ’24) | 391-0 |
| Wheat (Dec ’24) | 528-0 |
| Soybean (Nov ’24) | 973-0 |
| Coffee (Dec ’24) | 247.30 |
| Sugar #11 (Oct ’24) | 18.39 |
| Cocoa (Dec ’24) | 7,811 |
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