Weekly Market Update (02/07/2023 - 08/07/2023)
Continued depreciating U.S. Dollar, housing sales spike month-to-month and oil prices jump on the week.
U.S. Housing
• Residential Housing Sales spiked up +12.2% month-on-month, compared to 3.5% the prior month.
• 30-Year mortgage rates remain elevated at 6.81% despite recent Fed announcement to pause interest rate hikes.
• Housing affordability remains stubbornly low with no sign for improvement in the short-run unless a shift in interest rates occurs.
Equities
• U.S. equities lower on the week with Materials and Health Care stocks dragging down indices, while the communications and real estate sectors were best weekly performers.
• U.S. Tech is best performing U.S. equity sector YTD by being up +35%.
• German, French and Japanese equities lead the developed market equities group as they are up +14% year-to-date despite all being down on the week.
Currencies
• U.S. dollar depreciated versus main trading pairs (EUR, JPY, GBP, AUD) on the week. The Yen and the Pound appreciated against the USD more significantly by 1.82% and 1.12% respectively.
• Months-long trend of a depreciating dollar versus EUR and GBP since October of last year continues to be significant.
Commodities
• Gold price remains close for $2000 per ounce and is 5% up YTD mainly due to the spike that occurred in early March after the bankruptcy and collapse of Credit Suisse and Silicon Valley Bank.
• On a weekly basis, Oil prices jumped by approx. 4%, gold remained flat (+0.20%) and natural gas was down by 4.0% .
• Natural Gas prices since June have made a steady comeback and gained momentum – to keep an eye out in future updates.
Interest Rates
• Shorter-term treasury rate remain relatively elevated compared to longer-term treasury rates.
• Negative rate spreads between 10year treasury rate and 2yr treasury rate narrowed by 22 basis points.
(To read the full report, please download the PDF linked above of this week's market update. If you would like the powerpoint version please email us at blueportalinsight@gmail.com)
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Disclosure: This is not investment advice. Blue Portal Insight does not provide investment advice but rather provides commentary on market movements and insight into industry information. For investment advice, please refer to your financial advisor or an equally licensed professional.
