Weekly Market Review & Analysis For August 24, 2020   

The market showed the fifth continuous weekly gains for the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 indices, which finished the week higher by 3.4% and 3.3%, respectively. Both indices set new historical highs while the DJI Average changed positively for the year with a 2.6% increase. The small-cap Russell 2000 increased by 1.7%.

Financial equities were amongst the week's most prominent winners, profiting from some curve-steepening action after Federal Reserve Chair Powell sketched a shift towards a natural inflation target. Under the new structure, the Fed would allow Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) inflation to flow moderately exceeding 2.0% overtime to compensate for many years when it hovered under 2.0%.

The notable S&P 500 financials market sector increased by 4.4%, trailing closely behind the communication services sector with +4.8% print and information technology sector posting +4.5% gain - these index sectors are atop of the standings. However, only the utility sector showed a negative 0.7% closing. 

Prominently, the latest mark on consumer confidence suggested a pessimistic market outlook. The Conference Board's CCI (Consumer Confidence Index) fell to 84.8 this month from 91.7 postings in July: this is its lowest figures since May 2014. Traders and investors were more cheerful at this time.

Walmart and Microsoft advanced more than 6.5% this week's session, bolstered by reports that the companies are pulling up to the potential acquisition of TikTok America. On that note, Facebook rose whopping 10% in a momentum trade.

On Monday Dow Jones index will look somewhat different. Honeywell, Amgen, and Salesforce will replace Pfizer, Raytheon Technologies, and Exxon Mobil before Monday's session opening. Salesforce increased a hefty 30% this week, with most of those gains befalling after its earnings report numbers posting. 

The U.S. Treasury Two-year yield was stable at 0.15%, while the Ten-year yield increased nine basis points to close at 0.73%. The U.S. Dollar Index declined by 1.0% to finish at 92.32. WTI (West Texas Intermediate) crude oil futures advanced by $0.66 or 1.6% to close at $42.97/bbl.

Bitcoin is having some difficulties keeping up with the important $12,000 mark. This week, the price fell to $11,600. That’s a decrease of almost 5 percent since our last update. On Friday, Bitcoin surged slightly over two hundred U.S Dollars, but it couldn’t keep that price for long.