PAS Weekly Commentary

Some Good and Some Bad

The week that just concluded had its share of surprises. Some were good and some were bad.

The good included the following:

  • The 2-yr, 5-yr, and 7-yr Treasury note auctions
  • Carnival's earnings report
  • FedEx surging after its earnings report
  • Amazon.com eclipsing a $2 trillion market capitalization
  • All 31 large banks passing the Fed's annual stress test
  • A Personal income and Spending report for May that hit the right soft landing notes, which included gains in personal income and personal spending to go along with a moderation in the PCE Price indexes

The bad included:

  • A lack of broad-based participation. The equal-weighted S&P 500 declined 0.8% for the week.
  • A massive 20% decline in Dow component Nike after it issued a greatly disappointing FY25 sales outlook.
  • Reports of tension rising between Israel and Hezbollah.
  • Micron losing nearly 8% after failing to live up to investors' high expectations with its guidance.
  • Walgreens Boots Alliance missing earnings expectations, cutting its FY24 guidance, and announcing plans to close a significant number of underperforming stores
  • Continuing jobless claims hitting their highest level since November 2021.
  • New home sales sliding 11.3% month-over-month in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 619,000 units.

The presidential debate, we suppose, could fit in either category depending on how one looked at things. We'll let others call that shot, but it's not a stretch to say that it injected a new level of uncertainty into the presidential election.

Market participants took the news as it came, but refrained from showing any strong conviction outside of individual stock moves. All in all, it was a mixed showing at the index level.

The market-cap weighted S&P 500 dipped 0.1% for the week, the Nasdaq Composite increased 0.2%, the S&P Midcap 400 dropped 0.1%, and the Russell 2000 gained 1.3%. The price-weighted Dow Jones Industrial Average was down fractionally for the week.

  • Nasdaq Composite: +18.1% YTD
  • S&P 500: +14.5% YTD
  • S&P 400: +5.3% YTD
  • Dow Jones Industrial Average: +3.8% YTD
  • Russell 2000: +1.0% YTD

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Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. Indices are unmanaged and one cannot invest directly in an index. Diversification does not guarantee investment returns and does not eliminate the risk of loss.

Data and rates used were indicative of market conditions as of the date shown and compiled by Briefing.com. Opinions, estimates, forecasts, and statements of financial market trends are based on current market conditions and are subject to change without notice. References to specific securities, asset classes and financial markets are for illustrative purposes only and do not constitute a solicitation, offer, or recommendation to purchase or sell a security. S&P 500 Index is a market index generally considered representative of the stock market as a whole. The index focuses on the large-cap segment of the U.S. equities market. Each company’s security affects the index in proportion to its market value. NASDAQ Composite Index is a market value-weighted index that measures all NASDAQ domestic and non-U.S. based common stocks listed on the NASDAQ stock market. Dow Jones Industrial Average is a widely used indicator of the overall condition of the stock market, a price-weighted average of 30 actively traded blue chip stocks, primarily industrials, but also includes financial, leisure and other service-oriented firms. Russell 2000 Index measures the performance of the smallest 2,000 companies in the Russell 3000 Index of the 3,000 largest U.S. companies in terms of market capitalization. MSCI Emerging Markets Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure equity market performance of emerging markets.

Park Avenue Securities LLC (PAS) is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America (Guardian). PAS is a registered broker/dealer offering competitive investment products, as well as a registered investment advisor offering financial planning and investment advisory services. PAS is a member of FINRA and SIPC.

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2024-177504 (Exp. 10/24)

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