Weekly Review for week ending 8-30-24
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The markets held relatively steady last week, with the S&P 500 finishing about where it began. The NASDAQ, however, saw a slight decline of about 1%. As of last week, the S&P 500 is down just 0.33% from its all-time high in mid-July. Despite some volatility, August ended on a positive note, with the S&P 500 gaining approximately 2% and the NASDAQ up about 1% (FactSet).
On Friday, the Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index, which the Federal Reserve closely watches as a gauge of inflation, showed a modest increase of 0.1% from the previous month, bringing the annual rate to 2.6%. This was slightly below the 2.7% economists had expected, signaling a potentially softer inflation outlook (FactSet).
The U.S. economy also received an upward revision in its second-quarter growth figures. The government reported on Thursday that GDP grew at a 3.0% annual rate, up from the initial estimate of 2.8% made in late July. This revision was largely driven by increased personal spending, which should reinforce the idea that the market fears leading to the late July and early August declines were overstated (Bureau of Economic Analysis).
Looking Ahead
This coming Friday, we'll be watching for the release of the monthly Jobs Report, which will provide insight into August's unemployment figures.
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