Stock Markets Surge on Infrastructure Bill: Bonds Lag
The US stock market indices all surged last week as the Dow, NASDAQ, and S&P 500 gained 3.4%, 2.4% and 2.8%, respectively. Meanwhile, taxable bonds were down about 0.5% and tax-free municipal bonds were down about 0.2%, as the 10-Year Treasury rose above 1.5% again. Taxable bonds remain down about 2% - 3% for the year, while tax-free municipal bonds are up about 2% - 4%.
According to CNBC, investors are looking ahead to the second half of the year as the second quarter ends on Wednesday. Ahead of the new week, the Dow, NASDAQ and S&P 500 are up 13.6%, 11.8%, and 14.8% so far in 2021, respectively. Ahead of the second quarterly earnings season set to begin in mid-July, there have already been 66 companies issuing positive guidance, compared to 37 companies issuing negative guidance, according to Factset. In summary, large corporations have been showing strong profits all year as they recover from the pandemic, and are earning more than they were during pre-pandemic levels. All eyes will be on the June jobs report that will be announced on Friday, so we can likely expect Friday to be a volatile day – hopefully to the upside.
