Winthrop Partners Weekly Update 9-16-19

The Markets (as of market close September 13, 2019)

Stocks continue to rebound from their August declines, posting gains for the third week in a row. Each of the benchmark indexes listed here increased in value, led by the small caps of the Russell 2000, which climbed close to 5.0%. Trade tensions appeared to wane, at least for now, after China said that it wouldn’t impose tariffs on imports of certain U.S. agricultural goods. The European Central Bank initiated several stimulus measures, including an interest rate cut. Buoyed by these events, investors moved to stocks. Long-term bond yields soared as prices plummeted. The yield on 10-year Treasuries closed the week up 35 basis points. Year-to-date, the benchmark indexes are all well above their 2018 closing values.

Oil prices fell last week, closing at $54.82 per barrel by late Friday afternoon, down from the prior week’s price of $56.60. The price of gold (COMEX) fell for the third consecutive week, closing at $1,495.70 by late Friday afternoon, down from the prior week’s price of $1,514.70. The national average retail regular gasoline price was $2.550 per gallon on September 9, 2019, $0.013 lower than the prior week’s price and $0.283 less than a year ago. Click here for more: Winthrop Partners Market Update 9-16-19