Category Archives: Economy/Stock Market

Between late 2007 and now, the Fed’s balance sheet grew from $830 billion to $4.5 trillion. It will very likely take years for the Fed to pare that down.

While the Large-Cap indices reached new highs during the week, the tech-heavy NASDAQ had the best week, climbing more than 2.50%. The major indices closed with mixed moves on Monday, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average ended fractionally in the red zone, and the S&P 500 Index and NASDAQ posted gains.

Monday’s trading was light ahead of the Independence Day holiday, which had U.S. markets closed on Tuesday. On Wednesday, the market learned U.S. Factory orders took another step back in May, losing 0.8%, exceeding consensus’ expectations. Stocks ended last week higher, despite falling energy shares..

Investors turned to more defensive stocks like utility companies and other dividend-paying shares, which led the S&P 500 Index to slight gains on Monday. Technology shares led Tuesday’s downswing as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 saw their biggest daily declines in more than a month.

On Monday, indices closed out trading in the green zone as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 Index hit new all-time highs with a rebound in the technology sector. The start of the week also saw crude oil prices decreasing, with West Texas Intermediate crude settling at $44.20 a barrel.

The week kicked off with stocks taking a downturn, pulled down by Technology shares, raising some concern that the major indices have been influenced by a few large tech firms.

Indices kicked off the week by closing in the red zone on Monday, with stocks trading slightly lower on a variety of economic news. Revisions to Productivity and Costs were in line with expectations, unchanged from the first quarter.