Market Update – By The Numbers
Here are the weekly and year-to-date figures for several major North American, European and Asian stock markets.
| North America | Friday Close | Weekly Change | Weekly % Change | YTD % Change |
| Canada – S&P TSX Composite | 20,111 | -69 | -0.34% | -5.24% |
| USA – S&P 500 | 4,228 | -52 | -1.21% | -11.29% |
| USA – Dow Jones Industrial Average | 33,707 | -54 | -0.16% | -7.24% |
| USA – Nasdaq | 12,705 | -342 | -2.62% | -18.79% |
| Gold Futures (USD) | $1,761.10 | -$37.50 | -2.08% | -3.63% |
| Crude Oil Futures (USD) | $90.02 | -$2.07 | -2.25% | 19.69% |
| CAD/USD Exchange Rate | $0.7698 | -$0.0137 | -1.75% | -2.72% |
| Europe / Asia | Friday Close | Weekly Change | Weekly % Change | YTD % Change |
| MSCI World Index | 2,788 | -47 | -1.66% | -13.74% |
| Switzerland – Euro Stoxx 50 | 3,730 | -47 | -1.24% | -13.38% |
| England – FTSE 100 | 7,550 | 48 | 0.64% | 2.23% |
| France – CAC 40 | 6,496 | -58 | -0.88% | -9.18% |
| Germany – DAX Performance Index | 13,545 | -251 | -1.82% | -14.73% |
| Japan – Nikkei 225 | 28,930 | 383 | 1.34% | 0.48% |
| China – Shanghai Composite Index | 3,258 | -19 | -0.58% | -10.49% |
| CAD/EURO Exchange Rate | € 0.7662 | € 0.0072 | 0.95% | 10.13% |
| Fixed Income | Friday Close | Weekly Change | Weekly % Change | YTD % Change |
| 10-Year Bond Yield (in %) | 2.9890 | 0.1400 | 4.91% | 97.69% |
Inflation Update
We would like to share some commentary from Myles Zyblock (Chief Investment Strategist, Dynamic Funds) on the recently released U.S. July inflation report.
The U.S. consumer price index was reported for July and it showed a deceleration to 8.5% from 9.1% in the previous month. Inflation excluding the impact of food and energy prices, also referred to as core inflation, held steady for the second month at 5.9% which is half a percentage point below its peak rate of 6.5% set back in March of this year.
The better-than-expected inflation readings were immediately met by a sharp decline in bond yields and surge in equity prices. While the S&P 500 rallied by just over 2% and closed near its high for the day, the same could not be said for government bonds. Throughout the day bond yields climbed higher following that initial drop and closed not too far from where they stood just prior to the morning’s U.S. inflation report. In other words, bonds gave back most or all of those initial gains.
The minor dip in the inflation reading was taken as a sign by most markets that the Federal Reserve might not have to raise interest rates as much as was previously thought. The futures market lowered the odds of a 0.75% interest rate increase at the Federal Reserve’s next meeting in September, although a 0.5% interest rate hike remains fully priced for that meeting.
(End of Myles Zyblock Commentary)
Sources: Dynamic Funds, Yahoo! Finance, CNBC.com