It was an action-packed week. Both the DJIA and the S&P 500 overcame trade war escalation to hit all-time highs, treasury yields spiked, S&P sector reclassification arrived, and the Cleveland Browns finally unlocked their Bud Light victory fridges. Friday’s much anticipated trading session featured both quadruple witching (where index and stock futures and options expire) and the last chance for funds to rebalance before a major sector classification system change, but ultimately proved relatively non-eventful. International stocks, which started the month off on a down note, outperformed for the week.

Weekly Returns

S&P 500: 2,929 (+.85%)
FTSE All-World ex-US (VEU): (+2.63%)
US 10 Year Treasury Yield: 3.064% (+2.68%)
Gold: $1,199 (-.48%)
EUR/USD: $1.18 (+.75%)

Major Events

  • Monday – The United States announced new import taxes of $200 billion in Chinese goods
  • Tuesday – China retaliated with a $60 billion tariff announcement on U.S. goods
  • Tuesday – Treasury yields spiked in anticipation of Fed rate hikes set for next week, with the U.S. 10-Year breaking above 3%
  • Wednesday – The EU antitrust authorities started a probe into Amazon’s treatment of merchants
  • Thursday – U.S. indices closed at all-time highs breaking the August record
  • Thursday – Comcast Corp. and 21st Century Fox opted for a weekend auction to settle the $35 billion takeover battle that has been going on for almost two years
  • Friday – Trade volume spiked as two major market trading events, quadruple witching and major index rebalancing, collided on the same trading day

    • Our Take

    GICS is a sector and industry classification system maintained by MSCI and Standard & Poor’s. On Monday, September 24, the Telecommunications sector will be replaced with a new sector called the “Communication Services” sector that will consist of a mix of tech, media, and telecom companies – along with some other minor reshuffling within sub-industries as well. The new sector will carry about a 10% weighting in the S&P 500 and the Technology sector weighting will decline.

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