Major Indices
Last week was an action-packed week on Wall Street, as many US stocks reported earnings. Boosted by positive reports from many companies, including Google, Microsoft and Spotify, all three major indices finished in the green. The S&P 500 had its best week since last November, as the index closed at 5099.95, recording a 2.26% growth over the last five days. The tech heavy Nasdaq 100 showcased an even higher growth of 3.25%, reaching 17718.30, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at 38257.8.
US economy
On Thursday, the BEA released its initial estimates for first quarter GDP growth. At 1.6%, the rate was not only lower than the previously expected 2.2%, but it is also the slowest growth in 2 years. Meanwhile, inflation continues to stay high as signaled by the Personal Consumer Expenditure (PCE) Price Index, which recorded a growth of 2.7% YoY.
Commodities
Gold had a slow start to the week, as it fell to its lowest levels in three weeks on Tuesday. However, its price consolidated in the coming days, to close 0.27% for the week. The price of crude oil also saw an increase, with WTI reaching 83.64 at close on Friday, boosted by continued tensions in the Middle East. In the realm of metal prices, copper increased significantly over the last week, reaching two-year highs as ongoing issues in copper mining threaten to tighten the supply.
Currencies
Regarding currencies, the big talking point of the week is the weak yen, as USDJPY hit 158. The Japanese currency tumbled to its lowest point in 34 years on Friday, after hot inflation data signaled that the US will likely delay the planned rate cuts. Meanwhile, the EURUSD and the GBPUSD both nudged slightly higher, standing at 1.069 and 1.249, respectively.
Flow Traders Investment Competition
After only one poor week, the stock market flourished again last week. Big indices as the S&P 500 and AEX both rose with over 2.5% and also our Investment Groups have profited from this. Plutus Investments has entered the competitions’ top 5 with a M2 return of 14.20%, Andromeda had a 10.83% return in just the last week and also INVICTI is climbing up the ranking, winning 7 spots since last week.
