Weekly Market Update - August 31, 2012
Domestic stock prices ended the week mixed. The S&P 500 rallied today and finished August with a gain, its third straight monthly advance. Stocks reached a four-year high on an intraday basis last week but have had difficulty holding that level. Traders were somewhat disappointed that Fed Chairman Bernanke didn’t signal more imminent monetary action in his speech today in Jackson Hole. However, Bernanke did say that unemployment was a “grave concern,” indicating to investors that the Fed will not hesitate to act. Global markets were generally lower for the week. World markets were mixed, as European exchanges reacted favorably to Bernanke’s speech. Asian markets, which were closed when Bernanke spoke, ended the week lower.
Treasury prices advanced again this week, and yields fell. Yields on the benchmark 10-year Treasury declined today after Bernanke indicated that additional bond-buying may occur in the future.
Commodity indexes were little changed this week. Prices in each of the three primary commodity complexes – energy, precious metals and agricultural – were mixed on the week after posting strong gains last week.
| MARKET DASHBOARD | ||||
| Index |
Price |
Weekly Chg. |
% Chg. |
YTD % Chg. |
| S&P 500 |
1,406.10 |
0.41 |
0.0% |
12.2% |
| Dow Industrials |
13,090.84 |
-19.51 |
-0.1% |
7.5% |
| Nasdaq Composite |
3,066.97 |
5.42 |
0.2% |
18.0% |
| Russell 2000 |
812.09 |
-1.35 |
-0.2% |
9.0% |
| Euro Stoxx Index |
266.23 |
-1.16 |
-0.4% |
9.1% |
| Shanghai Composite |
2,047.52 |
-44.58 |
-2.1% |
‐6.9% |
| 10-Year U.S. Treasury |
1.56 |
-6 bps |
NM |
‐3 bps |
| DJ UBS Commodity Index |
146.03 |
0.00 |
0.0% |
3.3% |
| Gold |
$1,691.83 |
$3.81 |
0.2% |
7.0% |
| Crude Oil |
$96.50 |
$0.12 |
0.1% |
‐2.3% |
| U.S. Dollar Index |
81.22 |
-0.32 |
-0.4% |
1.4% |
| VIX Index |
17.54 |
2.58 |
17.0% |
‐24.1% |
| Source: Bloomberg | ||||
| As of August 31, 2012 | ||||