The Markets

Equities were very much a mixed bag last week. After the Dow and S&P 500 set fresh all-time closing records early in the week, a strong downdraft on Thursday flattened out the S&P for the week and took the Dow back into negative territory year-to-date. The Nasdaq, which has suffered in recent months, saw a positive week, while the small-cap Russell 2000 ended the week down almost 9% from its March high. The pain in domestic equities left the Global Dow the year-to-date leader. Meanwhile, a rally in the 10-year Treasury sent the yield to its lowest level since last October.

Last Week’s Headlines

• After a strong surge in March, retail sales flattened out in April, rising just 0.1%. The Commerce Department said online sales, sales of electronics/appliances, and those at restaurants and bars all declined, while clothing, auto, and department store sales saw gains.
• Wholesale prices saw a sharp increase last month, rising at their fastest pace since September 2012. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said April’s 0.6% increase followed a 0.5% jump in March, and was evenly distributed between goods and services. April’s increase put wholesale inflation for the last 12 months at 2.1%.
• Consumer prices also increased in April at a rapid pace; the 0.3% increase was the biggest monthly jump since last June. A 2.3% increase in the cost of gas and a 0.4% increase in food (beef alone was 2.9% higher) were key. April’s increase put the consumer inflation rate for the last 12 months at 2%, which is the level the Federal Reserve has informally targeted as appropriate.
• The Federal Reserve’s manufacturing indexes were both positive in May. The reading on the Empire State index rebounded 18 points from a weak March, while the Philly Fed reading declined slightly but had its third consecutive positive month.
• U.S. industrial production fell 0.6% in April after a 1% gain in both February and March. The Federal Reserve said milder weather cut the need for heat, which led to a 5.3% decline in utilities output, while mining production rose 1.4%. Use of total capacity at the nation’s factories slid 0.7% and was 1.5% below its average over the last 40 years.
• Housing starts rose strongly in April, with a nearly 43% increase in apartment construction responsible for most of the gain. The Commerce Department said new starts were up 13.2% for the month, and were more than 26% higher than in April 2013. Building permits–an indicator of future activity–were up 8% from March and were almost 4% higher than a year earlier.
• The eurozone economy grew 0.2% during Q1, roughly the same pace as the previous quarter, while the 0.3% growth in the 28-member European Union was slightly less than the 0.4% of Q4 2013. The strongest growth was in Germany, Hungary, Poland, and the United Kingdom. The Q1 figure meant that the eurozone grew 0.9% (1.4% for the EU) compared to the same quarter a year earlier. Meanwhile, the official EU statistical office said the inflation rate rose slightly in both areas, to 0.7% in the eurozone and 0.8% for the EU. Though both inflation rates were an improvement, they were still far below those of the previous year, and the annualized rate for seven countries was negative.

Eye on the Week Ahead

In a week that’s light on economic data, minutes of the most recent Fed meeting, a report on Chinese manufacturing, and housing market statistics could receive more-than-usual interest.