Coming off its worst week in months, the Dow attempted to recover this week… but those efforts were undone by more weak economic data. The Federal Reserve still won’t commit to an interest rate hike, and as we reach the end of July, the Dow is still underwater for 2015!
Monday the market continued its recent losing streak, as the downturn in China worsened. The Shanghai Index fell 8.5 % overnight, bringing its total losses close to 30% in the last six weeks! Fallout was felt around the globe, including here in the United States where the Dow fell 127 points.
Tuesday the markets reversed course early in the day, as fears over China eased temporarily. The bad news came from the domestic side, where the Consumer Confidence index for July badly missed expectations—coming in at a 90 rating rather than the expected 100. Nonetheless, the market broke its’ five-day losing streak as the Dow gained 189 points.
Wednesday was dominated by the conclusion of the Federal Open Market Committee’s two day-meeting—but the event came and went with no news on a rate hike. Positive earnings reports, however, helped push the markets forward for a second straight day. The Dow gained 121 points.
Thursday the market started lower after GDP numbers for the second quarter came in at a disappointing 2.3% growth—experts had expected a number close to 2.6%. Proctor & Gamble’s poor earnings reports weighed on the Dow as well. All in all, however, Thursday was a quiet day as the Dow fell by 5 points.
Friday the market struggled based on disappointing employment data. The employment cost index rose only 0.2 percent, missing expectations of a 0.6 percent rise. Oil lost another $2 per barrel, totaling a loss of 21% over the month of July. All together, it was enough to send the Dow down 56 points.
