Macro Market Movers

The impact of a 3% 10-year yield. The 10-year Treasury yield continues to hover near 3%, but we feel this level is more important psychologically than it is for the bottom line of investors or borrowers.

Widespread gains helped drive the S&P 500 Index back into positive territory on the year, though interest-rate sensitive sectors like utilities and telecommunications lagged the broad market.

The S&P 500 Index closed at its highest level since March 16 yesterday and is now up 1.85% for the year. But, what’s the significance?

New highs for small caps. The S&P 600 Index closed at a new all-time high yesterday, while the S&P Microcap Index was just pennies away.

Inflation is in the headlines again after the April Consumer Price Index (CPI) accelerated, while the Producer Price Index (PPI) fell versus March readings.

U.S. equities move into the year-to-date lead. The S&P 500 Index has returned 1.5% year to date, moving ahead of the MSCI EAFE Index’s 0.9% return and the modest 0.7% loss for the MSCI Emerging Markets (EM) Index.

The threat of China selling a portion of its $1.2 trillion in Treasury holdings in response to the recent ratcheting up of trade tensions makes for good headlines, but may not be a prudent decision.

Small business optimism remains at highs. While the NFIB Small Business Index, a measure of business trends and owners’ confidence, registered a marginal gain month over month in April, confidence remains at record highs.

As the calendar turns to May, it also means the current economic expansion is now 107 months old, officially marking the second-longest since World War II (WWII).

Earnings season has been a success by virtually any measure, with an impressive upside surprise, very strong growth, and positive guidance overall.