Stock Market News: Mixed Week For Equities
Double Dividend Stocks | Aug 15, 2021 01:09AM ET
Market Indexes: 2 out of 4 indexes gained this past week, the DOW and the S&P, with the NASDAQ ~flat, and the Russell small Caps retreating -1%.
“The Dow Industrial and S&P 500 edged up to closing records on Friday and notched a second straight week of gains, buoyed by a climb in Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS) shares, but a sharp drop in consumer sentiment kept gains in check. A report from the University of Michigan dented optimism after it showed the university’s preliminary consumer sentiment index fell to 70.2, its lowest level in a decade, suggesting that the Delta variant of the coronavirus was impacting consumers.” (Reuters)
Volatility: The VIX fell 5% last week, ending the week at $15.45.
High Dividend Stocks: These high dividend stocks go ex-dividend next week: Artisan Partners Asset Management (NYSE:APAM), Oxford Lane Capital (NASDAQ:OXLC), Oxford Square Capital Corp (NASDAQ:OXSQ), Portman Ridge Finance Corp (NASDAQ:PTMN), PennantPark Floating Rate Capital Ltd (NASDAQ:PFLT), Solar Senior Capital Ltd (NASDAQ:SUNS), Icahn Enterprises LP (NASDAQ:IEP), GODD, Gladstone Investment (NASDAQ:GAIN), Gladstone Capital (NASDAQ:GLAD).
Market Breadth: 23 out of 30 DOW stocks rose last week, vs. 14 the week before last. 66% of the S&P 500 rose, vs. 54% the previous week.
FOREX: The US $ fell vs. other major currencies, except the pound and the Swiss franc.
“A $1 trillion infrastructure package that is a top priority for U.S. President Joe Biden secured enough votes to pass in the Senate on Tuesday, a bipartisan victory for the White House as it aims to provide the nation’s biggest investment in decades in roads, bridges, airports and waterways.
Polls show that the drive to upgrade America’s infrastructure, hammered out by a bipartisan group of senators over months of negotiations, is broadly popular with the public. The bill still has to go to the House of Representatives and the spirit of cooperation in Congress that led to its passage on Tuesday will likely prove fleeting.” (Reuters)
Get The News You Want
“The number of Americans filing claims for unemployment benefits fell last week, a sign that the economic recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic continues to gather momentum.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell 12,000 to a seasonally adjusted 375,000 for the week ended August 7. Data for the prior week was revised to show 2,000 more applications received than previously reported. Claims remain well above their pre-pandemic level of 256,000, though they have dropped from a record 6.149 million in early April 2020. There were a record 10.1 million job openings at the end of June. About 8.7 million people are officially unemployed.” (Reuters)
Week Ahead Highlights: Housing reports and FOMC meeting minutes are due out this week.
Q2 ’21 Earnings season continues to wind down, with 3 DOW stocks reporting—tech giant Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CSCO), and retailers Walmart (NYSE:WMT) and Home Depot (NYSE:HD). Several other big S&P retailers will report, including Target (NYSE:TGT), TJX (NYSE:TJX), and Ross Stores (NASDAQ:ROST).
h2 The Week’s US Economic Reports/h2Sectors: Basic materials led the week, aided by the dollar’s decline, with the Energy sector lagging.
Futures: WTI crude fell -.37%, basically flat, ending at $68.03.
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.