We saw the market rally continue last week, as the major indices climbed between 1.5% and 2.75% week-over-week. These gains were likely a result of economic data releases that were much better than expected. A few things, like GDP, jobless claims, new home sales, and consumer confidence, came in much higher than expected! This is great, given the fact that almost everyone has been uncertain about which direction the economy is heading.
As we mentioned previously, there were quite a few important economic data points that exceeded expectations last week. New home sales for the month of May were 763,000, compared to analysts’ expectations of 675,000 and April’s reading of 680,000. Q1 GDP also came in much higher than expectations, with the revised number coming in at 2.0%, compared to analysts’ expectations of 1.6%. Jobless claims were also a good bit stronger than expected, with actual numbers coming in at 239,000 compared to an expected 265,000.
Although this week is shortened by nearly a day and a half, we can still look forward to some meaningful economic data points. On Wednesday, we’ll get both the ADP employment report, as well as the minutes from June’s FOMC meeting. On Friday, we’ll get important information on US employment, such as the employment report, unemployment rate, and hourly wages. Paying attention this week is key, as we’ll learn a lot about how the consumer is fairing and if the economy is truly on an uptrend. We’ll also get to hear what was discussed in the last FOMC meeting, which will be important given the hawkish comments we’ve been hearing from the Fed lately.
Given the incredibly short trading week, there won’t be any notable earnings releases. However, stay tuned, as next week kicks off the Q2 earnings season!
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