Your Weekly Update for Tuesday, June 1, 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]
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Summary
Markets were up last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.94% to 34,529.45 while the S&P500 ended up 1.16% to 4,204.11. The Nasdaq Composite rose 2.06% to 13,748.74. The annual yield on the 30-year Treasury fell 7.0 basis point(s) to 2.263%.
Economic data for the week included largely unchanged Q1 GDP estimates, and a decline in durable goods orders. On the housing side, prices continue to show strong momentum, while sales fell due to increasingly tight inventories. Jobless claims continued to improve and point to labor market repair.
Global equity markets continued to benefit from strong economic rebound activity and consumer sentiment. Bonds also benefitted from a pullback in interest rates. Commodities were led by demand expectations for energy and metals.
Economic Notes
(0/+) The second release of Q1 2021 GDP was unrevised from the first edition, showing annualized real growth of 6.4%. However, market expectations were more along the lines of a tenth or two higher. Underlying data remained solid, with personal consumption growth revised upward by over a half-percent to 11.3%. This was due to strong revisions upward for intellectual property and residential investment, which offset downward revisions for equipment, inventories, and net exports.
The core PCE price index for Q1 was revised up a few tenths higher than expected, at an annualized 2.5% rate, bringing the year-over-year rate to a still-contained 1.6%. The PCE index, which the Fed relies upon, has a different composition than the more commonly-known consumer price index, which has a greater allocation to the effects of commodity prices and housing/shelter.
Based on the Atlanta Fed GDPNow, Q2 GDP is expected to grow in the range of 9.3%, while the New York Fed Nowcast model predicts 4.3%. Both are subject to change in coming weeks, but the consensus view is that weâre perhaps nearing the peak of economic growth recovery in mid-2021, although growth may continue to run at levels still above-average for the coming year or two.
(-) Durable goods orders for April fell by -1.3%, which was in contrast to a gain the prior month and a 0.8% increase expected by consensus. However, this was explained largely by large decline in auto and auto parts orders for the month, which can be volatile, and lately affected by a shortage of semiconductors. Core capital goods orders, though, rose by 2.3% for the month, which far surpassed the 1.0% forecast, in addition to several upward revisions for three prior months of about a half-percent each. Core capital goods shipments increased 0.9%, which was a bit stronger than expected. While some supply bottlenecks have made their way into goods orders and other statistics, orders remain up 52% vs. April 2020, showing robust recovery.
(0) Personal income fell by -13.1% in April, which was actually an improvement upon the -14.2% drop expected. This was, in fact, the biggest single-month decline reported for that series, but merely represents the impact of March stimulus payments dropping off. Wage and salary income rose by 1.0%, however. Personal spending increased by 0.5%, on par with consensus expectations. The savings rate declined to 14.9%, but remains nearly twice the pre-Covid level. On the inflation side, headline and core PCE rose by a rounded 0.6% and 0.7%, respectively, with a larger-than-average contribution from healthcare costs. This pushed the year-over-year gains to a more dramatic 3.6% for headline and 3.1% for core inflation. The composition of PCE is different than CPI, though, with a quarter of the latter tied to housing, so it wouldnât be surprising to see the paths of these indexes diverge over time as the recovery takes hold, affecting sectors to different degrees.
(+) The S&P/Case-Shiller home price index rose 1.6% in March, beating expectations calling for 1.3% and representing the largest gain in decades. Prices rose in all 20 urban areas, led by the West, as Phoenix, Seattle, and San Diego each gained around 3% each for the month, while Las Vegas and Chicago were the laggards nationally. This brought the year-over-year gain up another 1.3% to 13.3%, which is robust, to say the least.
(+) The broader FHFA house price index experienced a gain of 1.4% during March, beating expectations of 1.0%. All nine regions gained, led by 2% increases for the Mountain and New England areas. The overall year-over-year rate of change here improved by a similar 1.4% to 13.9%. As noted for several months, continued tight inventories have pushed asking prices and eventual sales prices higher, particularly in more desirable areas.
(-) New home sales in April fell by -5.9% to a seasonally-adjusted level of 863k units. This was slightly better than the -7.0% decline to 950k expected, but included a sharp revision downward of 100k units for March. For April, the West was the only region with a slight gain in sales, while the South experienced the sharpest decline for the month. Inventory remained at 4.4 monthsâ sales, which remains very tight, especially on the completed homes side. Sales overall remain strong, represented by the fact that theyâre up 20% from Feb. 2020 just as the pandemic was beginning, at the same pace as the median price of a new home of the past year.
(-) Pending home sales fell in April by -4.4%, which ran counter to the expected increase of 0.4%. This brought the year-over-year rate to over 53%. Regionally, only the Midwest saw an increase of 4%, while pending sales in all other areas declined, mostly in the Northeast. As pending sales lead to later âexisting sales,â the most notable component was the National Association of Realtors notations that âlack of supplyâ has been a primary catalyst in the drop-off in recent housing sales activity, particularly in the âaffordableâ segment.
(-) Consumer confidence for May ticked down by -0.3 of a point to 117.2, compared to expectations calling for a gain to 118.8. While consumer assessments of present economic conditions rose by over 12 points, expectations for the future declined by -9 points. Importantly, the labor differential, which measures the ease in job-finding, rose by 13 points to pre-Covid levels. This was highlighted by nearly half of respondents finding that âjobs are plentiful.â
(+) The final May Univ. of Michigan index of consumer sentiment ticked up by 0.1 of a point to 82.9, recovering the decline from the early-month preliminary report. Consumer assessments of current conditions fell by just over a point, while expectations for the future improved by a similar amount. Inflation expectations for the coming year were flat at a decade high 4.6%, while those for the coming 5-10 years ticked lower by a tenth to 3.0%. Inflation concerns remain present undoubtedly, with the pace of increase being the key question from consumers.
(+) Initial jobless claims for the May 22 ending week fell by another -38k to 406k, well below the 425k consensus forecast. Continuing claims for the prior May 15 week also fell sharply, by -96k to 3.642 mil., which was lower than the median estimate of 3.680 mil. On the initial claim side, the largest drops were in WA, NJ, and FL, while several other states saw minor increases that were likely weather-related. In looking at broader pandemic emergency programs, the rolls continued to show declines largely on par with official jobless claims numbers, although the releases were for prior weeks. The overall claims total has fallen from 10 mil. closer to 9.2 mil.
Market reaction to jobless claims has been interesting, and a bit mixed. While the knee-jerk response has often been a positive market jolt upon stronger data, itâs become less of a surprise due to expectations of gradual improvement this summer. At the same time, there remain the uncertainties about data that is âtoo goodââpotentially spurring some wage inflation and a shorter timeline for Fed accommodative monetary policies. These could be the key questions surrounding the summer economic recovery.
Market Notes
| Period ending 5/28/2021 | 1 Week (%) | YTD (%) |
| DJIA | 1.03 | 13.76 |
| S&P 500 | 1.20 | 12.62 |
| NASDAQ | 2.08 | 6.98 |
| Russell 2000 | 2.45 | 15.30 |
| MSCI-EAFE | 1.22 | 10.42 |
| MSCI-EM | 2.39 | 6.03 |
| BBgBarc U.S. Aggregate | 0.35 | -2.29 |
| 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 |
| 5/21/2021 | 0.01 | 0.17 | 0.84 | 1.63 | 2.33 |
| 5/28/2021 | 0.01 | 0.14 | 0.79 | 1.58 | 2.26 |
U.S. stocks gained on a lighter pre-Holiday week, with economic data coming in largely as expected overall. Soothing language from government officials about inflation staying âtransitoryâ seemed to calm market fears to some degree. By sector, communications and consumer discretionary led the way with gains above 2%, with Facebook, Alphabet and a rebound by Tesla providing leadership. Small caps fared about twice as well as large caps, along with their perceived greater sensitivity to recovery. On the other hand, defensive utilities, health care, and consumer staples lost ground last week. Real estate also gained a few percent, fueled by more tempered interest rates. Results in May were led by âvalueâ (particularly financials and energy) as the post-Covid reflation trade continued, outperforming âgrowthâ which lost ground during the month (mostly consumer discretionary but also technology).
Foreign stocks were driven by similar drivers of reopening activity and stronger economic data, as well as widening vaccinations (although still well behind the U.S.). Emerging markets outperformed developed markets, with leadership in both Asia as well as commodity-sensitive nations such as Brazil and Russia. For the past few weeks, a weaker dollar has played a more important role, pushing net returns higherâparticularly in more volatile emerging markets. Hopes for a stronger post-Covid recovery remain robust in those areas, despite current struggles on the ground in several countries, including India and Brazil.
U.S. bonds fared positively last week again, as interest rates fellâparticularly along the longer end of the treasury yield curve. Investment-grade debt outperformed both high yield and bank loans. With little change in the dollar last week, foreign developed market bonds performed similarly to U.S. government, while emerging market fared slightly better. For the month of May, emerging market bonds outperformed other areas with strong gains along with tighter spreads due to continued risk-taking by investors.
Commodities gained across the board last week, led by positive returns in energy and industrial metals. Higher supplies for corn caused a bit of a correction on the agricultural side, which flattened returns for that group during the week. The price of crude oil regained over 4% to over $66/barrel, at the higher end of its recent range. Factors include virtual OPEC meetings this coming week, as the market continues to digest strengthening energy demand, but also high Covid case levels in several countries, and the potential impact of new supply from Iran. In May, most groups experienced gains, especially high-single digit returns for precious metals, which experienced a reversal in recent sub-par performance along with market concerns over rising inflation. However, as weâve noted previously, the relationship between precious metals and inflation is not as clear-cut or consistent as its historical performance as a more effective ârisk-offâ asset.
Mortgage Rates
âMortgage rates are down below three percent, continuing to offer many homeowners the potential to refinance and increase their monthly cash flow,â said Sam Khater, Freddie Macâs Chief Economist. âIn fact, homeowners who refinanced their 30-year fixed-rate mortgage in 2020 saved more than $2,800 dollars annually. Substantial opportunity continues to exist today, as nearly $2 trillion in conforming mortgages have the ability to refinance and reduce their interest rate by at least half a percentage point.â
The 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.95% with an average 0.7 point for the week ending May 27, 2021, down from last week when it averaged 3.00%. A year ago at this time, the 30-year FRM averaged 3.15%.
The 15-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 2.27% with an average 0.6 point, down from last week when it averaged 2.29%. A year ago at this time, the 15-year FRM averaged 2.62%.
The 5-year Treasury-indexed hybrid adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) averaged 2.59% with an average 0.2 point, unchanged from last week. A year ago at this time, the 5-year ARM averaged 3.13%.
Freddie Macâs Primary Mortgage Market SurveyÂŽ 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. 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.
Cryptocurrencies
| Currency | Symbol | Price | 7-Day Return | YTD % | Market Cap |
| Bitcoin | BTC | $37,290.21 | -1.36% | 26.67% | $696,675,909,693 |
| Ethereum | ETH | $2,652.81 | 4.01% | 263.50% | $308,268,782,526 |
| Dogecoin | DOGE | Â $0.32 | -6.48% | 5,585.95% | $41,970,193,928 |
Information current as of 6:33 am, Tuesday, June 1, 2021. Source: https://coinmarketcap.com.
Check us out at https://beaconrwa.com and our affiliated websites at 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 & Poorâs, 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.