Last Week’s Highlights:

Equities posted a strong week as signs or reopening around the world and rising oil prices added to investors’ enthusiasm. The tech-heavy NASDAQ actually edged into the black for 2020 and is up 1.7% for the year. The stock market is indeed forward-looking, as the economic environment continues to be dire – unemployment hit 14.7% in April as 20.5 million jobs were lost. For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) rose 607.63 points, or 2.6%, to 24,331.32, while the S&P 500 rallied 3.5% to 2929.80. The NASDAQ soared 6%, closing at 9121.32. The S&P has now recouped about half of its losses from the record high earlier in the year on hopes that economic activity may be bottoming as restrictions ease and economies reopen. Last week, the price of oil recorded its first back-to-back weekly gain since February – oil companies appeared to be cutting production faster than expected and signs of increased demand emerged.

Looking Ahead:

Earning season is winding down, with financial reports coming from Cardinal Health (CAH), Under Armour (UA) and Marriott International (MAR) on Monday. Duke Energy (DUK), Honda Motor (HMC) and Toyota Motor (TM) release earnings results on Tuesday. The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) announces the consumer price index (CPI) for April – economists call for a 0.4% year-over-year uptick, after a 1.5% gain in March. Wednesday brings earnings from Cisco Systems (CSCO) and Sony (SNE). The BLS releases the producer price index (PPI) for April – expectations are for a year-over-year fall of 0.2%, while the core PPI is seen gaining 0.8%. Applied Materials (AMAT) and Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) announce financial results on Thursday. The business week ends with earnings reports from JD.com (JD) and VF Corp. (VFC) on Friday. The Census Bureau releases retail sales data for April – forecasts call for sales to plummet by 10.6%, surpassing March’s 8.4% monthly decline as the steepest on record.

All of us at Tufton Capital wish you a safe and healthy week!