It’s beginning to sound like a broken record, but the themes of the last few months – trade and economic data – continued to influence the market this week.
While volatility was swift, the last seven trading days saw much more positive news than the previous week. Much of that came from the big announcement that Canada, Mexico and the United States had finally come to terms on a trilateral trade agreement to replace/modify NAFTA. Trade issues have long been a huge cause for concern and the deal announcement takes some weight off of the market. However, issues with China still weighed on overall returns this week.
Investors were treated with a ton of economic data as the new month began. The issue was that the results were mixed. While data still showed plenty of growth in the U.S. economy, many key metrics in manufacturing, housing and consumer spending showed slight dips. Nervousness continued to persist on the street.
Despite the lack of earnings this week, investors didn’t seem phased by the dips in the data. Some key bellwethers reported and the results seemed to please the street. The cautious overtones of their reports didn’t dent investors’ super happy moods.
All in all, stocks surged on the optimism and the potential end of the trade war.
Be sure to check out our previous week’s Wrap here, when it was all about the Fed and it’s policies.
