Markets tuned out noise from Washington last week and continued to focus on economic fundamentals. Mildly rebounding retail sales and strong consumer sentiment seem to point toward a modestly stronger second quarter.
After a three-week winning streak, both the Dow and S&P 500 reported slight losses. The Dow closed with a 0.53% loss, and the S&P 500 reported a 0.35% decline for the week. The NASDAQ, however, rose 0.34% while the MSCI EAFE reported a modest 0.16% gain.
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Stocks continued their advance on generally strong earnings reports this week despite the GDP report showing a slow first quarter economy. The S&P 500 rose 1.51%, the Dow gained 1.91%, and the NASDAQ added 2.32%.[1] On Tuesday, the NASDAQ posted record highs as it closed over 6,000 for the first time.[2] Internationally, the MSCI EAFE was up 2.97%.[3]
On Friday, April 28, we learned that first quarter GDP increased a modest 0.7%, lower than the reported consensus expectations of approximately 1%.[4] Oil drilling and housing performed well, but consumer spending fell, largely due to poor auto sales and lower utility bills.[5] Consumer spending, the largest segment of our economy, rose by only 0.3%.[6]
While this growth is slower than the 2.1% last quarter—and the lowest we’ve experienced in three years—the picture is likely not as negative as it may seem at first.[7] Not only did mild weather affect consumer spending on heating, but the government has also acknowledged its challenges accurately calculating data for first quarter GDP.[8]
In addition to these GDP readings, a number of other events and data releases contributed to market performance this week.
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Last week, major indexes experienced losses for the second week in a row, with the S&P 500 falling 1.21%, the Dow giving back 1.01%, the NASDAQ dropping 1.26%, and the MSCI EAFE declining 0.14%.^[1]
Markets closed on April 14 for the Good Friday holiday, but in the four trading days, a number of headlines dominated the news cycles:
International tensions surrounding Syria and North Korea continued to heighten.^[2]

• The U.S. dropped its biggest non-nuclear bomb in Afghanistan.^[3]
• United Airlines lost $250 million in market value on Tuesday after footage emerged of a passenger’s violent removal from an overbooked flight.^[4]

These headlines drew great attention last week, and we will continue to follow events as they develop. Meanwhile, we want to focus on newly released data from last week that gives perspectives on where the economy is today—and what we should watch for in the coming months. In a nutshell, the reports hinted at relatively slow growth in the first quarter of 2017.^[5]
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The first quarter of 2017 is now behind us, and although we won’t have complete economic data for a while, we do know that domestic stocks had a solid start to the year. Last week, major indexes took a pause from some recent gains and began the second quarter of 2017 with less than thrilling performance. The S&P 500 lost 0.30%, the Dow was down 0.03%, the NASDAQ gave back 0.57%, and the MSCI EAFE declined 0.72%.^[1] For this week’s update, we’re going to examine what happened to markets in the first quarter.
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With the first quarter of 2017 now behind us, we have seen the three major indexes all gain more than 4.5% so far this year.^[1] In fact, the NASDAQ just experienced its best quarter since 2013 due to tech stocks driving growth.^[2]
Despite closing down on Friday, the indexes added to their quarterly gains last week.  The S&P 500 grew by 0.80%, the Dow was up 0.32%, and the NASDAQ gained 1.42%.^[3] At the same time, international stocks in the MSCI EAFE lost 0.26% for the week.^[4]
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Last week, all four of the indexes we discuss in these market updates saw their performance stumble. The S&P 500 lost 1.44%, the Dow was down 1.52%, the NASDAQ gave back 1.22%, and the MSCI EAFE declined 0.07%.^[1]
On Tuesday, March 21, the S&P 500 and Dow recorded 1% declines for the first time since Oct. 11, 2016.^[2] By Friday, the S&P had posted its worst week since the election.^[3] At the same time, 10-year Treasury yields fell and the dollar dropped for the second straight week.^[4]
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On Wednesday, March 1, the three major domestic indexes all had their best performance in 2017 and reached record highs yet again.^[1] In fact, the S&P 500 hit 2,400 for the first time ever on the same day the Dow went above 21,000 for the first time.^[2] While the markets cooled slightly on Thursday and Friday, all three indexes were up for the week. The S&P 500 added 0.67%, the Dow increased by 0.88%, and the NASDAQ was up 0.44%.^[3] International equities in the MSCI EAFE also grew, adding 0.39% for the week.^[4]
In the midst of more record performance, we received a number of data updates that help improve our understanding of the true economic environment and potential for the Fed to increase interest rates next week.
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Once again, domestic markets reached record highs last week. The S&P 500 was up by 0.69% and the NASDAQ increased by 0.12%.^[1] With its 0.96% week-over-week growth, the Dow has posted gains for 11 straight days and is currently experiencing its longest record streak since 1987.^[2] On the other hand, international equities in the MSCI EAFE lost ground, dropping by 0.25% for the week.^[3]
Last week did not offer much new information on economic fundamentals. With the exception of January increases for new single-family homes and the fastest pace of existing home sales since 2007, we do not have a tremendous amount of new data to share.^[4]
In the absence of this data, focusing on the roiling political conversations becomes much easier. As we have said before, we encourage you to pay attention to how the economy is performing—not what the headlines are blaring. Rather than recount the policy debates and political back-and-forth, we will discuss three important economic developments on our horizon: revised GDP, February CPI, and Fed interest rate deliberations.
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Another week, another round of record highs. Despite concerns about how France’s upcoming presidential election could affect the European Union’s stability, U.S. stocks ended the week up yet again.^[1] The S&P 500 gained 1.51%, the Dow added 1.75%, and the NASDAQ increased 1.82%—growth that represents record highs for all three indexes.^[2] International equities in the MSCI EAFE also posted positive returns, with 0.78% growth for the week.^[3]
A number of data reports also came out last week, and they tell a mostly encouraging story about the economy right now.
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The political world has presented many topics of conversation lately. But one discussion has been relatively quiet: tax reform. Last week, however, the president announced that a “phenomenal” tax plan is forthcoming, and domestic markets responded by reaching record highs.^[1] In fact, we saw positive market performance even before the announcement, as the S&P 500 and Dow posted new records two days in a row, while the NASDAQ reached record highs every day except Monday.^[2] By Friday, the Dow was up 0.99%, the NASDAQ added 1.19%, and the S&P 500 capped its fourth consecutive week of gains to increase by 0.81%.^[3] On the other hand, the MSCI EAFE languished this week, posting a 0.03% loss.^[4]
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