Economic Beat: Financial News

Listen to weekly audio updates covering market news, economic news, and financial industry insights.

How will current market developments affect you? The thought leaders at Fifth Third Bank can help make sense of it all. Listen to the Economic Beat as they discuss what happened last week and what they expect will be the focus of this week. Click the button below to listen or read the transcript to this week's Economic Beat.

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Past Economic Beats

November 4, 2024

Markets prepare for post-election volatility

In the week ahead, the U.S. Presidential election will be in focus on Tuesday. With many recent polls showing a close race between former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, markets may be primed for volatility early this week.

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October 2024

October 28, 2024

S&P 500 posts first weekly drop in 7 weeks

Global equities moved mostly lower with the S&P 500 down 1.0% on the week, breaking a trend of six weeks of gains. The Dow Jones Industrial average fell 2.7%, Nasdaq composite posted gains of 0.2% and the Russell 2000 fell by 3.0% over the last week. The dollar index also moved higher during the week and ended the week up 0.7%. Third Quarter Earnings Season is well underway with the S&P 500 index on pace to grow earning for the 5th quarter in a row. This week, 170 companies in the S&P 500 will detail their financial results. On the 30th, investors will get updates on the U.S. economy with the third quarter GDP report where markets are expecting another solid report with current estimates at 3.0% growth. On November 1st, investors will get updates on the U.S. labor market with current markets expecting 110,000 added jobs with a static unemployment rate at 4.1%.

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October 21, 2024

Positive start to Q3 earnings season

It was a relatively quiet week on the domestic economic front. The key takeaway from the reports is that they are muddled by the effects of the Florida hurricanes yet are being greeted with a sense of pleasant surprise that initial jobless and continuing claims were much better than feared, signaling a labor market which remains resilient.

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October 7, 2024

Third-quarter earnings season kicks off

Major U.S. equity indices ended higher last week, boosted by a stronger-than-expected jobs report. The S&P 500 Index and Nasdaq each clocked their fourth straight weekly gain with the Dow Jones Industrial Average also rising 0.1%. The highly anticipated September labor market report showed U.S. employers added 254,000 jobs to payrolls last month, and the Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey showed the number of available jobs in the U.S. grew in August to more than 8 million, showing a sign of strength in the labor market. On Thursday, the September consumer price index (CPI) will be released with economists expecting YoY core CPI to remain unchanged at 3.2%.

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September 2024

September 30, 2024

Third consecutive week of S&P 500 gains

Over the last week, global equities were mostly higher with the S&P 500 posting the 3rd week in a row of gains. Specifically, the Dow Jones Industrial average gave investors a return of 0.6%. The S&P 500 moved higher by 0.6%, the Nasdaq Composite ended the week higher by 1.0%, and the Russell 2000 fell by 0.1% over the last week.

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September 23, 2024

S&P 500 gives best week of returns for 2024

The Federal Reserve kicked off its monetary easing cycle with a 50-basis point interest rate cut. The yield curve steepened modestly with the 6-month U.S. Treasury yield dropping, while the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose last week. Gold rose and hit fresh records Friday. Lower core inflation data paired with a weakening labor market resulted in the Federal Reserve’s decision to begin cutting interest rates.

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September 16, 2024

S&P 500 gives best week of returns for 2024

Over the last week, global equities moved higher with the S&P 500 posting the best weekly return in 2024, recovering most of the losses observed from the prior week. The dollar index moved slightly lower during the week, ending down 0.1%. The Consumer Price Inflation came in at 2.5%, and the Producer Price Index came in at 1.7%. The University of Michigan Sentiment index came in above expectations and above last month’s reading, driven by moderating inflation and prospects for an improvement in household income. This week, investors will get new data points on the U.S. Consumer with Retail sales figures reporting changes relative to last month. On Wednesday, the U.S. Central Bank will detail its latest thoughts around interest rates and market participants will get updates on the Federal Reserve’s Summary of Economic Projections, which will detail to the market what the central bank’s forecasts are on GDP, Inflation, and Unemployment for 2024 and 2025.

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September 9, 2024

Largest domestic companies post solid earnings growth

Domestic equities finished their worst week in eighteen months as labor market related uncertainty sparked economic slowdown fear. The August nonfarm jobs report pointed to additional signs of a softening U.S. labor market and added volatility to the financial markets. The unemployment rate fell to 4.2% from 4.3%. Second quarter earnings for the S&P 500 are largely complete with the largest domestic companies posting solid earnings growth, suggesting strength and resiliency in the domestic economy. The second quarter will mark the highest year-over-year earnings growth rate reported by the index since second quarter 2021. It will also mark the fourth consecutive quarter of year-over-year earnings growth for the index. In the week ahead, investors will be digesting a slew of both economic and corporate earnings data with the release of the August report of the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and releases of wholesale pricing, consumer credit, small business optimism, and initial jobless claims this week.

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Economic Beat: Financial News

Past Economic Beats

November 4, 2024

Markets prepare for post-election volatility

October 28, 2024

S&P 500 posts first weekly drop in 7 weeks

October 21, 2024

Positive start to Q3 earnings season

October 7, 2024

Third-quarter earnings season kicks off

September 30, 2024

Third consecutive week of S&P 500 gains

September 23, 2024

S&P 500 gives best week of returns for 2024

September 16, 2024

S&P 500 gives best week of returns for 2024

September 9, 2024

Largest domestic companies post solid earnings growth

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