MARKET RECAP*
- The stock market returned modest gains in August as the US stock market continued its positive momentum
- The S&P 500 finished the month with a positive 3.3% return, reaching a new record high
- Top Sectors: Technology (+6.9%), Consumer Discretionary (+5.1%), Health Care (+4.4%)
- Bottom Sectors: Energy (-3.3%), Materials (-0.5%)
- Large Cap Growth beat Large Cap Value in August by a wide margin (+4.0%)
- Growth beat Value by its widest spread in over nine years
- Small Cap stocks gained 4.3% on the month, outperforming both large and mid-cap stocks
- International Developed countries continued to underperform U.S. stocks by 5.0% on the month
- Emerging Markets lost 3.7% on the month as the dollar weakened across emerging market nations
- Long-Term Treasury yields declined slightly on the month as the Fed became less likely to raise rates
- The ten-year Treasury yield ended the month at 2.86%, 10 basis points lower than last month
ECONOMIC NEWS**
- The economy created 201,000 jobs in August, coming in above expectations of 195,000
- However, the jobs created in June and July were revised down by 50,000
- Unemployment rate remained flat at 3.9% this month
- Wages rose 2.9% for all workers in August, surpassing expectations of 2.8%
- Core inflation was raised to 2.4% in August, as the Fed looks to raise rates in the upcoming months
