Market Week: July 10, 2023
The Markets (as of market close July 7, 2023)
Stocks fell for the second straight week, with each of the benchmark indexes losing ground. The Dow led the declines, followed by the Global Dow, the Russell 2000, the S&P 500, and the Nasdaq. Although the employment report for June (see below) showed a moderate decline in the number of new jobs added, wages continued to track higher, which could support further interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve. The Fed meets next on July 26, and the latest employment data makes another pause in rate increases highly unlikely. Whether the rate hike is 25.0 basis points or 50.0 basis points is open to conjecture. Crude oil prices advanced for the second straight week as export cuts by Saudi Arabia and Russia began to impact prices. Ten-year Treasury yields increased by 24.0 basis points, impacted by the weakest number of new job hires in three years and rising wages.