Though it was a short week due to the observation of Independence Day, it did not lack in the amount of economic data the market had to contemplate. The most important number was unemployment, which came out on 7/2. The numbers were very disappointing, and the market fell hard because of it. That drop put the domestic indexes, the Dow, the S&P and Nasdaq, unchanged for the week. Quarter-to-date, they all showed positive increases as well, at 11%, 15.2%, and 20%, respectively. The Dow continues to be negative year-to-date (-3.8%) while the S&P is positive at (1.8%) and the NASDAQ powers ahead of all of them with a strong year-to-date gain (16.4%).

The yield of the 10-year Treasury bond was up by 2 basis points from last week, and it was the best quarter for equities since the late nineties. But with the announcement of consumer confidence and unemployment numbers, both of which took a dip, there was a negative market reaction late Wednesday into Thursday. After the steady January-May decline in the number of jobs lost, that number rose in June, for the first time since 2008. The unemployment rate reached 9.5%. Figures, unfortunately, were worse than we had expected, but there may still be signs for a economic turnaround later in the year.