Weekly Market Update

The yield on the 10-year Treasury has been bouncing between 2.60 percent and 2.65 percent since September 25. As of early Monday morning, the yield stood at 2.62 percent, and it could see some downward pressure as we approach the October 17 debt ceiling deadline with no agreement in place.

The gridlock in Washington appeared to spill over into the equity markets, as some of the major large-cap indices showed little change last week. The S&P 500, for example, lost just 4 basis points (0.04 percent).

Read more now in our weekly market summary.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury began the week at 2.60 percent, as the possibility of a government shutdown brought downward pressure. The Federal Reserve’s commitment to continue its asset purchasing program, coupled with political concerns, could push rates even lower. Read more now in our Weekly Market Summary.

The Federal Reserve announced on Wednesday that it would not begin tapering its bond purchases, sending Treasury yields downward. The 10-year Treasury went as low as 2.67 percent immediately following the announcement, down from as high as 2.89 percent minutes before. Yields on the 10-year had recovered to 2.74 percent Monday morning.

Read more in our weekly market summary.

The news Sunday evening that Larry Summers was withdrawing as a candidate for the Fed Chairman position surprised many and sent the yield on the 10-year Treasury down to 2.8 percent early Monday morning, its lowest level in September.

Equity markets surged higher as the threat of military action against Syria dissipated and on positive global economic news. The S&P 500 gained more than 2 percent, but the Dow Jones Industrial Average posted the strongest gain for domestic equities, rising 3.10 percent. Emerging markets turned in the week’s best performance, with a gain of 3.69 percent for the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.

Read more now in our Weekly Market Summary.

With only three Federal Open Market Committee meetings remaining this year, investors will be paying close attention to
the Fed’s language, which has moved markets previously. Volatility is expected to continue leading into next Wednesday’s meeting.

The yield on the 10-year Treasury hit its year-to-date high of 2.995 percent on September 5, but it was back down to
2.876 percent on Monday morning. Read more now in our Weekly Market Summary.

With the Federal Reserve’s next meeting scheduled for September 18, volatility is expected to continue throughout the month
as investors wait to see whether or not the Fed will begin tapering its current bond purchasing program. Read more now in our Weekly Market Summary.

With last week’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting minutes behind us, investors will be looking ahead to the next meeting on September 18—the date more and more people are expecting some kind of tapering to the bond purchasing program. We are not yet convinced this will occur, but bond markets seem to be expecting such a move. Read more now in our Weekly Market Summary.

Speculation that the Federal Reserve (Fed) will taper its level of bond purchasing has pushed Treasury rates to their highest levels since 2010. The 10-year Treasury yield was as high as 2.87 percent early Monday morning.

The S&P 500 dropped a little more than 2 percent on the week. Correlations were relatively high, with most of the major
domestic indices reporting similar losses. The Nasdaq was an outlier on the positive side, losing just 1.51 percent on strength in
technology stocks.

Read more in our Weekly Market Summary.

The S&P 500 Index broke above the important 1,700 level last week, closing at 1,706. In the second quarter, gross domestic
product (GDP) grew 1.7 percent, rising above analyst expectations. Read more in this Weekly Market Update.

The 10-year Treasury yield was down to 1.62 percent late last week before moving back to 2.55 percent, which was closer to where it had started the week. We expect a quiet start to this week as we wait for remarks from this Wednesday’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. Read more in this PDF.