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Category: Financial News
Markets closed lower last week as investors reacted to weaker-than-expected economic data and lingering inflation worries. The S&P 500 declined 1.66%, driven by underperformance in consumer discretionary and communication services sectors. Bond prices gained on increased demand, pushing yields lower. Crude oil prices fell for the third consecutive week, while gold prices advanced.
Housing market data showed mixed results. Housing starts were down 9.8% in January, reflecting caution ...
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Weekly Market Update – 2.17.2025
Markets closed higher last week despite mixed economic signals, including weaker retail sales and ongoing tariff concerns. The S&P 500 posted a 1.47% gain, with information technology and consumer staples leading the rally, while consumer discretionary and financials lagged. Treasury yields edged lower, and crude oil prices remained volatile amid supply concerns.
Inflation remains a key concern. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.5% in January, marking the largest monthly ...
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Weekly Market Update – 2.10.2025
Unify Financial Advisors Weekly Market Update
The S&P 500 declined 0.24% last week. Declines in US equity indexes and gains in international equity indexes could be attributed to tariff expectations. US equity valuations are elevated, while non-US equity valuations are low relative to historical averages. Home bias investing is the tendency to invest in domestic companies for comfort. Click here for information and a short video on home bias investment implications.
Inflation data ...
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Weekly Market Update – 2.3.2025
Stocks started in the red last week following the DeepSeek AI news, but they managed to claw back most of their losses throughout the week. However, following the tariff announcement Friday afternoon, stocks sold off, and the S&P 500 finished the week down -1.00%. We saw solid earnings from big tech companies, Meta, Microsoft, and Apple. On the economic side, inflation seems to have stalled, growth remains solid on the back of strong consumer spending, and the Federal Reserve held ...
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Weekly Market Update – 1.27.2025
Last week, the S&P 500 gained 1.74% on optimism around corporate earnings, pro-business policies, and a barrage of executive orders issued during President-elect Donald Trump’s first week in office.
This week was ignited by headlines stemming from viral social media posts over the weekend that DeepSeek, a China-based company, created an artificial intelligence open-source model that competes with rivals like ChatGPT for a fraction of the computing costs. White papers ...
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Weekly Market Update – 1.20.2025
Last week, the stock market saw a strong rebound following cooler-than-expected inflation data from December’s Consumer Price Index (CPI), easing concerns about potential interest rate hikes by the Federal Reserve this year. The S&P 500 rose 2.91%, erasing its losses for the year. Additionally, major banks reported earnings that exceeded expectations. The rally in both stock and bond markets reinforces the importance of staying invested over the long term. As the saying goes, ...
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Weekly Market Update – 1.13.2025
Last week, solid job numbers were a case of good news is bad news for the markets, with the S&P 500 declining by (1.94%). Job creation and openings support economic growth but can prompt the Federal Reserve (Fed) to maintain higher rates for longer to fulfill its dual mandate of maximum employment and price stability. As long-term investors, we prefer a strong jobs market and cautious Fed over a weak jobs market and easy Fed policy. The latter is usually in response to a poor economy ...
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Weekly Market Update – 1.6.2025
Last week, we closed out 2024 with a bang and rang in the New Year. The S&P 500 declined -0.45% for the week but rose 23% over the year and hit 57 new all-time highs. The Magnificent 7 and technology indexes have outperformed the S&P 500 for two consecutive years. Prudent rebalancing can reduce concentrated tech stock holdings or overweight tech sector allocations. Unify Financial Advisors rebalances portfolios as part of our investment management ...
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Weekly Market Update – 12.16.2024
Last week, warm November inflation readings for CPI and PPI put downward pressure on stocks and bonds, with the S&P 500 declining 0.61% and longer-term yields increasing 0.25%. Rent inflation has been stubborn since the pandemic, but last week’s underlying data for rents showed their weakest pace in over three years, suggesting further progress on inflation.
Investors will focus on retail sales and the FOMC rate decision this week. The CME ...
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Weekly Market Update – 12.9.2024
Last week, consumer discretionary, communication services, and information technology stocks saw gains, which were tempered by declines in energy, utilities, real estate, and materials. The S&P 500 gained 0.99%, and the Russell 1000 growth gained 3.64%.
Friday’s labor report showed strong November hiring and upward revisions for September. The strong hiring and an increase in the employment rate from 4.1% to 4.2% should keep the Fed on course to cut rates by 0.25% on ...
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