The S&P 500 (SPY) gained last week as investors continue to shrug off news of the spread of coronavirus. Overall, value stocks outperformed their growth counterparts as the materials sector led. Energy stocks fell on concerns that the surge in infections could weigh on global demand. Tech stocks also slipped due to the pullback in the semiconductors industry, which was under pressure with concerns about potential weakness in memory prices. There's a lot more to discuss, which I will get into below….(Please enjoy this updated version of my weekly commentary from the POWR Value newsletter).
Even with the delta variant surging, the economy is moving along. The July employment report showed substantial progress toward full employment, as 943,000 payroll jobs were added, and the unemployment rate fell to 5.4%.
However, 9 million Americans remain unemployed, and last week's Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) report showed that the number of job openings is now more than the number of unemployed Americans by 1.3 million.