Market Week: August 5, 2024
The Markets (as of market close August 2, 2024)
Wall Street experienced a notable downturn last week, with each of the benchmark indexes closing sharply in the red. A weaker-than-expected jobs report, rising unemployment claims, disappointing corporate earnings from major tech firms, and falling manufacturing data prompted the major sell-off last week. Evidence of a slowing economy may prompt the Federal Reserve to cut interest rates in September, but many analysts and investors believe the Fed is behind the curve in cutting rates, especially when other central banks have already done so. There was a huge swing in the market sectors last week, where utilities (4.5%) and real estate (3.9%) turned sharply higher, while information technology (-4.1%), consumer discretionary (-3.8%), and energy (-3.4%) turned sharply lower. Bond prices jumped higher as demand increased, pulling yields lower. Ten-year Treasury yields fell to their lowest level since December 2023. Crude oil prices dropped by more than 3.5%, while gold prices climbed higher.