S&P 500 Rises for Fourth Consecutive Week

 

Equity futures climb higher as Trump administration considers fast-tracking additional COVID-19 vaccine. The S&P 500 ended last week at a new record high to mark its fourth straight week of gains — the longest winning streak this year.  The Nasdaq also hit another record- rising 0.4% while the DJIA closed 0.7% higher. Futures are pointing to another record breaking session, this time on news that the Trump administration will potentially aware “emergency use authorization” to a UK vaccine developed jointly by AstraZeneca and Oxford. Swap rates and Treasury yields are little changed to start the week, the 10-year Treasury yield sitting at 0.63%.

 

 

Fed’s economic symposium in Jackson Hole begins this week.  Headlined by Chair Jerome Powell, the Fed will host its annual Economic Policy Symposium on Thursday, where officials will review the central bank’s monetary policy framework, namely the long-awaited inflation strategy.  Powell is set to discuss steps the Fed will take to encourage a rebound in the labor market and provide price stability in the midst of the pandemic.  Economists expect the Fed will return to its usual 2% inflation target by the next FOMC meeting.

 

 

New home sales are expected to rebound in July.  After rising to 776,000 in June, economists forecast a rise in new home sales for the second straight month. New home sales comes on the heels of a series of positive data from the housing market, driven by the current low mortgage rate environment.  According to the National Association of Realtors, sales of pre-owned homes rose 24.7% last month, the largest rise on record.