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What happened in the markets last week
Stocks were mostly up last week, and finished a strong Q2 and H1
The major indexes were mostly positive. The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average rose by slightly more than 1% last week, the Nasdaq 100 was almost completely flat, and the small-cap Russell 2000 dropped by less than 1%. Last week’s jobs report was a mixed bag (hiring slowed, but unemployment dropped). The financial sector was the top performer last week; we have a list of the best-performing bank stocks here.
The second quarter ended with strong returns. Despite their recent ups and downs, the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq wrapped up their best quarters since 2020 in terms of returns last week. The Dow marked its best quarterly performance since 2022. Small-caps are doing especially well this year: The Russell 2000 is having its best first-half performance since 1991.
Bitcoin and gold recovered slightly. Bitcoin is back above $61,000 and an ounce of gold is back above $4,100.