Weekly Snapshot July 28th, 2021

Market Review: Week Ending 7/23/2021

Last week on Monday, volatility jumped, and the equity markets dropped as investors worried about potential Covid Variant restrictions. Like equities, government bonds reacted to the growing fears but rallied. However, by the end of the week, equity markets ended higher – rebounding from Monday’s selloff and U.S. 10-year Treasury yields settled at 1.28% – the lowest level in five months. Investors concluded hospitalization rates and fatalities will remain low and that market fundamentals (Accommodative Federal Reserve, Continued Fiscal Stimulus, High Level of Economic Growth, and Rising Corporate Profits) remain strong. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) returned +1.12% for the week. The S&P500 Index (S&P500) advanced +1.97%, the Russell 2000 Index (R2000) increased +2.15%, and the NASDAQ Composite (NASDAQ) jumped +2.84%.1 S&P 500 sector outperformers for the week were Communication Services +3.24%, Consumer Discretionary +2.85%, and Technology +2.77% while sector underperformers were Utilities -0.87%, Energy -0.39%, and REITs -0.07%.2 Growth fears reignited the demand for technology and large-cap growth stocks. For the week, the Russell 1000 Growth index (+3.33%) outperform the Russell 1000 value index (+0.98%). Year-to-date, the Russell 1000 Growth index reestablished its leadership over the Value index: 18.23% vs 17.28%.3

WHAT WE WILL BE WATCHING THIS WEEK
Various economic reports on the health and direction of the economy:

  • National Association of Realtors – Pending home sales
  • U.S. Census Bureau – Durable Orders
  • The Conference Board – Consumer Confidence Index
  • U.S. Labor Department – Weekly Job Claims
  • University of Michigan – Consumer Sentiment
  • U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis – Personal Income / Consumption
  • U.S. Federal Reserve Board Two-day Policy meeting.

STOCKS IN THE NEWS

  • JPMorgan Chase (JPM – held in Fundamentum GIE) beat by 4.7% on the top-line and 18.1% on the bottom line. The top-line upside was driven by higher noninterest income, more than offsetting a slight miss on net interest income. Management highlighted the continuation of credit quality improvements and the consumer spending recovery along with slow loan growth demand.4

  • Bank of America (BAC – held in Fundamentum GIE) reported a 1st quarter EPS beat that reflected loan loss reserve releases and strong investment banking results from equity underwriting. However, higher expenses in the quarter and an outlook for higher expenses for full year 2021 weighed on shares post earnings. BAC’s diversified business model is positioned to benefit from an economic recovery in 2021-2022.5

  • Union Pacific (UNP – held in Fundamentum GIE) 2nd quarter results topped consensus estimates across the board. Freight revenues exceeded consensus across all categories, along with both volume and revenue per carload coming in better-than-expected. Highlighting ongoing healthy macro trends coupled with efficiency improvements, management raised its FY21 volume outlook.6

As always, we appreciate your confidence in our team.


Fundamentum Investment Committee
John Nichol, CFA® – Chief Investment Officer
Trevor Forbes – Investment Committee
Robert Armagno – Investment Committee


Sources:

1 JPMorgan Weekly Market Recap – 7/26/2021
2 FactSet – 7/23/2021
3 JPMorgan Weekly Market Recap – 7/26/2021
4 FactSet – 7/14/2021
5 FactSet – 7/14/2021
6 FactSet – 7/23/2021

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