THE WEEK ON WALL STREET

A strong, but not too strong, employment report sparked a rally on the final day of trading, propelling stocks to a modest gain for the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed by 0.66%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 added 0.61%. The Nasdaq Composite index increased by 0.48%. The MSCI EAFE index, which tracks developed overseas stock markets, edged up 0.10%.^1,2,3

ROTATION CONTINUES

Markets have traded sideways since mid-April, though beneath the surface has been ongoing sector rotation. Last week continued that trend.

While stocks ended on a strong note, the performance of industry sectors varied widely. Energy, real estate, utilities, and a number of reopening stocks performed well, while consumer discretionary, communication services, healthcare, and technology stocks lagged.

The Fed announced on Wednesday that it will soon begin selling the corporate bonds and exchange-traded funds it had accumulated during the pandemic, an action that some observers interpreted as a harbinger of an approaching change in its easy-money policies. But the below-consensus May job figure on Friday buoyed investors who believe the Fed will not change course soon.^4,5