Week In Review (5/4 - 5/8)

It was another choppy week for the markets as the first 3 days were decidedly down before steadying on Thursday and then bursting higher Friday to finish the week, in most cases, slightly positive.  The first chart below shows major US equity market performance for Monday - Thursday.  As you can see, it had been a tough week up until that point as we heard comments from Janet Yellen suggesting that, in her view, US stock markets may be fully or even slightly over-valued.

Then Friday morning came and with it the April non-farm payroll report.  The uninspiring numbers gave investors further confidence that the Fed would continue to be in no rush to raise rates and thus the all clear to buy stocks en masse.  Here is the same chart as above but with Friday added:

 From a sector perspective, utilities continued their year-to-date struggles and were joined by energy and technology as this week's laggards.

Looking internationally we saw a mixed bag.  China and emerging markets struggled while European stocks surged into week's end after the election results in the U.K.

Lastly, in surveying a grab bag of other asset classes, we saw bonds up slightly for the week, the dollar continued its recent fall and commodities were relatively flat.

There's not much else to say.  We continue to watch stocks fluctuate in this months long range and wait for signals of a breakout/breakdown.

Have a great Mother's Day!