Author: OneAscent

Equity markets surged higher last week as earnings season got off to a great start. Several large banks reported strong earnings, which helped push equity markets higher.

After initially falling early in the week, equity markets crawled back into positive territory by the end of week despite a weaker than expected jobs report on Friday. The US economy added 194,000 jobs in September, which dropped the unemployment rate to 4.8%.

It was a volatile ride for investors last week, as global equity markets declined significantly on Monday before spending the rest of the week climbing back. The S&P 500 (a proxy for US large-cap stocks) ended up rising 0.5% for the week while the MSCI ACWI index (a proxy for global stocks) gained 0.1%.

Global equity markets declined for the second week in a row, as the S&P 500 (a proxy for large-cap US stocks) lost 0.5% and the MSCI ACWI (a proxy for global stocks) dropped 1.0%. Emerging markets stocks continued to lag developed market peers (the MSCI Emerging Markets index was down 2.2 percent for the week), as concern over the delta variant and increased government regulation in China persists.

Global equity markets retreated last week, as the S&P 500 (a proxy for large-cap US stocks) lost 1.7% and the MSCI ACWI (a proxy for global stocks) dropped 1.2%. Concern about the Covid-19 delta variant and its impact on the economic recovery seemed to be weighing on investors’ minds.

Global equity markets advanced last week as Jerome Powell, Federal Reserve Chair, indicated that the Fed may begin tapering its monthly bond purchases in 2021 but that investors should not expect interest rate hikes in the near-term. His comments came after the annual Jackson Hole symposium and investors seemed pleased by the message, as the S&P 500 (a proxy for large-cap US stocks) gained 0.9% on Friday.

Global equity markets, in general, fell last week as concerns about central banks potentially easing support measures in the near future intensified. Investors may get a better sense of the Federal Reserve’s tapering timeline later this week when the annual Jackson Hole symposium begins on Thursday.