The S&P 500 index rose 0.7% last week, led by the energy, health care and financial sectors as the second quarter earnings reports came in mostly above analysts’ estimates.
The index is now up 1.9% for the month to date and up 18% for the year to date.
The weekly rise came as many companies’ 2nd quarter financial results surpassed Street consensus views. Investors had feared this quarter’s results would suffer under the pressures of inflation and interest rate increases, but many of the reports released so far have shown that companies are doing better than expected while coping with those challenges.
The energy and health care sectors had the largest percentage gains of the week, climbing 3.5% each, followed by a 3.0% rise in financials. Other gainers included utilities, consumer staples, industrials, and materials.
Four sectors were in the red, led by communication services, down 3.0%, and consumer discretionary, down 2.3%. Real estate and technology also edged lower.
This week’s earnings schedule features a number of heavyweight companies including Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOGL), Visa (V), Meta Platforms (META), Coca-Cola (KO), Boeing (BA), Amazon.com (AMZN), Mastercard (MA), AbbVie (ABBV), McDonald’s (MCD), Intel (INTC), Exxon Mobil (XOM), Procter & Gamble (PG) and Chevron (CVX).
A two-day Federal Open Market Committee meeting will also be in focus this week, along with an initial estimate of 2nd quarter gross domestic product on Thursday and key inflation data on Friday.
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Episode 165 – How to Invest in the Private Market With Leif Hartwig