The Markets (as of market close January 3, 2020)
A strong start last week for the benchmark indexes listed here was wiped out by rising tensions in the Middle East. Only the Nasdaq was able to close slightly higher last week as the other benchmark indexes listed here closed the week in the red. Both the Dow and S&P 500 lost value, as did the Global Dow. The small caps of the Russell 2000 had the worst week-over-week performance, falling about 0.50%. On the other hand, oil, gold, and 10-year Treasuries pushed higher last week.
Oil prices continued to climb last week, closing at $63.05 per barrel by late Friday afternoon, up from the prior week’s price of $61.72. The price of gold (COMEX) rose higher last week, closing at $1,553.30 by late Friday afternoon, up from the prior week’s price of $1,515.60. The national average retail regular gasoline price was $2.571 per gallon on December 30, 2019, $0.039 more than the prior week’s price and $0.305 more than a year ago. Click here for more:Winthrop Partners Weekly Update 1-6-20