Markets: It was a Down week for the market, with all 4 indexes losing ground. The S&P 500 gave up nearly half of its year-to-date gains, while the Dow Jones went further into the red year-to-date.
Dividend Stocks Update: These high dividend stocks go ex-dividend this coming week: DOC, KIM, VIV, HASI, DX, KCAP, IRT, KRG, BKS.
Volatility: The VIX rose 14.94% this week, ending the week at $13.77.
Currency: The dollar was mixed this week – it fell vs. the Loonie and the euro, but rose vs. other major currencies.
Market Breadth: 12 of the Dow 30 stocks rose this week, vs. 5 last week. 30% of the S&P 500 rose this week, vs. 36% last week.
Economic News: New Home Sales increased to 689K in May, higher than the 668K forecast. Q1 GDP was revised downward to 2%. Personal Income rose slightly, while Personal Spending fell.
“Growth in China’s manufacturing sector slowed in June after a better-than-expected performance in May, official data showed, as escalating trade tensions with the United States fuel concerns about a slow down in the world’s second-biggest economy. The official Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) released on Saturday fell to 51.5 in June, from 51.9 in May, but it remained well above the 50-point mark that separates growth from contraction for a 23rd straight month.” (Reuters)
“Canada struck back at the US administration on Friday over U.S. steel and aluminum tariffs, vowing to impose punitive measures on C$16.6 billion ($12.63 billion) worth of American goods until Washington relents. The retaliation came as General Motors (NYSE:GM) warned that any tariffs Washington might impose on imported vehicles could cost U.S. jobs.” (Reuters)
Week Ahead Highlights: It’ll be a short week, with US markets are closed on the July 4th holiday.
Next Week’s US Economic Reports: The Non-Farm Payrolls report and Unemployment Rate come out on Friday – forecasts are calling for 205K jobs, lower than the May total.
Sectors: The Utilities and Energy sectors led again this week, while Technology trailed. Real Estate and Consumer stocks led in June, while Industrials trailed, due to tariff war pressures.
Futures:
U.S. benchmark oil futures settled higher for a fourth straight session on Friday, tallying a gain of more than 20% for the first half of 2018. Recent sharp declines in U.S. crude supplies, output concerns linked to Venezuela, Libya and Canada, as well as uncertainty surrounding Iranian exports, have contributed to oil’s price gains, despite an agreement among major oil producers to boost crude production. August West Texas Intermediate crude added 70 cents, or nearly 1%, to settle at $74.15 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. That was the highest for a most-active contract since Nov. 24, 2014. (MarketPulse)
Crude oil futures were up 11.27% in June, while Natural Gas rose .55%:
