Your Weekly Update for Tuesday, February 16, 2021.
Beacon Rock Wealth Advisors is a financial planning and registered investment advisory firm in Camas, Washington. We are always available to answer your finance questions. Give us a call at (800) 562-7096 or send an email to [email protected].
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Have a great week!
Mike Elerath
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM
CERTIFIED IN LONG-TERM CARE
NATIONAL SOCIAL SECURITY ADVISOR
[email protected]
Bill Roller
NMLS #107972
CHARTERED FINANCIAL ANALYST
CERTIFIED FINANCIAL PLANNERTM
CHARTERED MARKET TECHNICIAN
[email protected]
For more information about Beacon Rock Wealth Advisors, check out our brochure here:Ā https://beaconrwa.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/BeaconRockBrochure.pdf
Monday was Presidentsā Day and markets were closed.Ā The official name is Washingtonās Birthday. George Washington was born February 22, 1732. If he were alive today, he would be almost 289 years old. Abraham Lincoln was born February 12, 1809. He is left out of the official Federal celebration even though his birthday is celebrated in several states, including Illinois his state of birth.
Summary
Markets were up last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.00% to 31,458.40, while the S&P500 ended up 1.23% to 3,934.83. The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.73% to 14,095.47. The annual yield on the 30-year Treasury rose 2.9 basis points to 2.003%.
Economic data for the week included inflation that continued to rise slightly (due to commodity prices largely), but still tempered levels on a trailing year basis. Labor metrics improved a bit, but remain challenged relative to pre-Covid levels.
Global stock markets experienced a positive week, with foreign outperforming U.S. equity markets. Domestic bonds fell back as interest rates ticked higher, while foreign bonds benefited from a weaker dollar. Commodities rose across the board, with strong demand and supply concerns, particularly for crude oil.
Economic Notes
(0) The consumer price index for January rose by 0.3% on a headline level, but core CPI was unchanged, after reflecting the removal of food and energy prices. For the single month, price declines in lockdown-affected lodging and airfares, which were offset by increases in apparel and medical services. Year-over-year, both headline and core CPI increased at the same rounded rate of 1.4%. Although the underlying components were subject to a far wider degree of dispersionāwith used cars up 10%, food costs up 4%, while both apparel and medical costs fell -2%, and energy commodity prices dropping -9%. Over the past six months, however, inflation is picked up by twice its pace compared to the previous six-month period. The amount of M2 in the economy is up over 25% in the past year, with lending and cash payments being infused directly into the economy.
(-) The preliminary February Univ. of Michigan index of consumer sentiment report showed a decline of -2.8 points to 76.2, below the median forecast of 80.9. Assessments of current conditions declined slightly, while expectations for the future fell by over -4 points to lead the decline. Expectations for inflation over the next year ticked up by 0.3% to 3.3%, while those for the next 5-10 years were unchanged at 2.7%. The inflation expectations component is noteworthy, and is coupled with rising public concern over wide government fiscal deficits and stimulus in response to Covid. As noted about the expanding size of M2, how this filters into wages and goods and services in the economy remains the critical factor in any inflation development in coming years.
(+) The JOLTs job openings report for December showed an increase of 74k to 6.646 mil., including an upward revision for the prior month, and surpassing the median forecast calling for 6.400 mil. jobs. The job openings rate rose a tenth to 4.5%, while the hiring rate fell by -0.3% to 3.9%. On the exiting side, the layoff rate fell a tenth to 1.3%, and the quits rate rose a tenth to 2.3%. Overall, this depicts continued repair in the labor market.
(0) Initial jobless claims for the Feb. 6 ending week fell by -19k to 793k from a higher revised level the prior week, surpassing the consensus estimate of 760k. Continuing claims for the Jan. 30 week fell by -145k to 4.545 mil., higher than the 4.420 mil. expected. The initial claims number was driven by led by an over-90k jump in OH, and large gains in CA and NY, while the majority of other states experienced declines.
Market Notes
| Period ending 2/12/2021 | 1 Week (%) | YTD (%) |
| DJIA | 1.11 | 3.00 |
| S&P 500 | 1.28 | 4.94 |
| NASDAQ | 1.74 | 9.44 |
| Russell 2000 | 2.54 | 16.01 |
| MSCI-EAFE | 2.09 | 3.78 |
| MSCI-EM | 2.41 | 10.78 |
| BBgBarc U.S. Aggregate | -0.13 | -1.23 |
| U.S. Treasury Yields | 3 Mo. | 2 Yr. | 5 Yr. | 10 Yr. | 30 Yr. |
| 12/31/2020 | 0.09 | 0.13 | 0.36 | 0.93 | 1.65 |
| 2/5/2021 | 0.03 | 0.09 | 0.47 | 1.19 | 1.97 |
| 2/12/2021 | 0.04 | 0.11 | 0.50 | 1.20 | 2.01 |
U.S. stocks gained ground last week, with positive sentiment appearing to originate from flattening Covid case counts, a pickup in vaccine distribution, optimism about the next fiscal package coming, as well as tempered inflation readings. Earnings continue to come in a bit better than expected, albeit on lowered expectations as is typical, but the speed of the improvement has surprised markets to the upside a bit.
By sector, the week was led by sharp gains in energy (following the price of oil) and communications services (led by the video gaming and social media group), while utilities and consumer discretionary experienced minor declines. Real estate gained over a percent, despite slightly higher interest rates. Small cap stocks again outperformed large caps by about a percent, in keeping with a continued investor rotation toward cyclical assets.
Foreign stocks outperformed U.S. equities last week, with some help from a weaker U.S. dollar. As has been the case lately, sentiment has been driven by U.S. markets and stimulus probabilities, as well as global infection rates and vaccine distribution progress. As an example of the divergence in results by region, the U.K. reported a -10% drop in GDP for 2020, which was more than twice the decline of the U.S. Emerging markets outgained developed markets, with China leading the way, prior to a week-long market closure for the Lunar New Year.
U.S. bond prices fell back along with continued ticks higher in interest rates. Investment-grade corporate fared slightly better than treasuries, while high yield bonds earned slightly positive returns, in closer correlation with equities. Developed market foreign bonds fared positively, almost solely due to a weaker dollar, with emerging market bond returns mixed, and also currency driven.
Commodities rose broadly by several percent last week, led by price gains in energy and industrial metals, while agriculture and precious metals were little changed. The price of crude oil increased by nearly 5% to just under $60/barrel. It appeared OPEC continued to cut output, while the narrative has moved steadily toward a new āsupercycleā in the space, as demand recovers from the pandemic. Some concerns have surfaced that a Biden Administration green agenda may continue to put downward pressure on U.S. output, resulting in possible shortages and need to potentially import crudeāa reversal of the celebrated U.S. āenergy independenceā of recent years.
Mortgage Rates
āItās a tale of two economies. The services economy remains in the doldrums, but the production side of the economy remains strong,ā said Sam Khater, Freddie Macās Chief Economist. āNew COVID-19 cases are receding, which is encouraging and that has led to a rise in Treasury rates. But, the run-up in Treasury rates has not impacted mortgage rates yet, which have held firm.ā
Khater continued, āThe residential real estate market remains solid given healthy purchase demand while implied real-time home price growth is high, due to the inventory shortage that is plaguing the housing market.ā
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgageĀ averaged 2.73% with an average 0.7 point for the week ending February 11, 2021, unchanged from last week. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.47%.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgageĀ averaged 2.19% with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.21%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.97%.
The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgageĀ (ARM) averaged 2.79% with an average 0.2 point,Ā up slightly from last week when it averaged 2.78%.Ā A year ago at this time, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.28%.
Freddie Macās Primary Mortgage Market SurveyĀ® is focused on conventional, conforming, fully-amortizing home purchase loans for borrowers who put 20% down and have excellent credit. Average commitment rates should be reported along with average fees and points to reflect the total upfront cost of obtaining the mortgage. Visit the following link for theĀ Definitions. Borrowers may still pay closing costs which are not included in the survey.
Through our relationship with Prestige Home Mortgage in Vancouver, Washington we originate residential and reverse mortgages. Check us out at https://beaconrwa.com and our affiliated websites atĀ https://reverse-mortgages.us and https://socialsecurityquestionsanswered4u.com.
Sources: Ryan Long, CFA, FocusPoint Solutions, American Association for Individual Investors (AAII), Associated Press, Barclays Capital, Bloomberg, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, FactSet, Financial Times, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Asset Management, Marketfield Asset Management, Morgan Stanley, MSCI, Morningstar, Northern Trust, Oppenheimer Funds, PIMCO, Standard & Poorās, StockCharts.com, The Conference Board, Thomson Reuters, T. Rowe Price, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Federal Reserve, Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post. Index performance is shown as total return, which includes dividends, with the exception of MSCI-EM, which is quoted as price return/excluding dividends. Performance for the MSCI-EAFE and MSCI-EM indexes is quoted in U.S. Dollar investor terms.
The information above has been obtained from sources considered reliable, but no representation is made as to its completeness, accuracy or timeliness. All information and opinions expressed are subject to change without notice. Information provided in this report is not intended to be, and should not be construed as, investment, legal or tax advice; and does not constitute an offer, or a solicitation of any offer, to buy or sell any security, investment or other product. FocusPoint Solutions, Inc. is a registered investment advisor.
Notes key: (+) positive/encouraging development, (0) neutral/inconclusive/no net effect, (-) negative/discouraging development.