Market Week: August 23, 2021
The Markets (as of market close August 20, 2021)
Stocks closed the week lower over concerns about the pace of global economic growth. China, the world’s
second-largest economy, saw retail sales and industrial production slow as that country tries to contain the
fallout from the latest resurgence in COVID cases. In addition, the minutes from the July Federal Open
Market Committee meeting indicated that at least some of the members are considering tapering the Fed’s
asset-purchase program sooner rather than later. Each of the benchmark indexes listed here lost value.
The Global Dow fell 3.3%, the Russell 2000 dipped 2.5%, and the Dow dropped 1.1%. The dollar and gold
prices advanced, while crude oil prices declined 8.5%. The yield on 10-year Treasuries marginally
decreased. The market sectors were mixed for the week, with utilities, consumer staples, health care,
information technology, and real estate gaining ground, while energy, materials, financials, industrials, and
consumer discretionary fell.