Market Week: August 14, 2023
The Markets (as of market close August 11, 2023)
The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq fell for the second straight week, while the DOW outperformed the benchmark indexes listed here. Stocks have been relatively soft so far in August, which is not out of the ordinary. A slightly hotter-than-expected uptick in producer prices (see below) likely pushed Treasury yields higher, while cooling mega-cap growth shares, which are generally sensitive to interest rate movements. Several market sectors ended the week lower with information technology (-4.3%) and consumer discretionary (-2.3%) falling the furthest, while energy (+3.6%) and health care (+2.1%) advanced the most. Corporate earnings season for the second quarter is winding down. With Roughly 85% of the S&P 500 companies reporting results, nearly 81% have beaten profit estimates. The dollar strengthened, while gold prices notched the worst weekly performance in over a month.