The Federal Reserve cut interest rates 0.25% last week. While the move was widely expected, various forms of dissent reflected the underlying tensions faced by the Fed. As the accompanying chart shows, interest rates dropped last week but remain above recent lows.
Global stocks rallied sharply for the third straight week. The S&P 500 rose 1.0%. The MSCI ACWI index of global stocks rose 1.3%. The Bloomberg BarCap Aggregate Bond Index dropped 1.7% as optimism about future economic growth pushed interest rates higher and bond prices lower.
Global stocks rallied sharply for the second straight week. Stocks have historically performed worse in September than any other month, so the positive performance comes at a welcome time. For the week, the S&P 500 rose 1.8%.
Global stocks rallied sharply last week and erased much of the decline experienced in August. Economic news was generally in line with recent themes, and the Chinese government’s comments expressing its willingness to negotiate reassured investors.
Global stocks were having a positive week until an escalation in the trade war between the U.S. and China pushed the market lower Friday morning. The S&P 500 dropped 2.6% on Friday after the president indicated the U.S. would respond to additional Chinese tariffs.
Volatility continued to rise last week as the markets swung sharply in both directions. Markets moved more than 1% on four days. The most impactful event was the two-year yield temporarily rising above the 10-year yield, a move that has coincided with the last seven recessions.
