Winthrop Partners’ Weekly Update 2-18-2020
The Markets (as of market close February 14, 2020)
Despite the ongoing battle against the coronavirus, stocks reached record highs last week. Solid economic data, strong retail sales, and favorable corporate earnings reports helped quell investors’ fears that the spread of the dreaded coronavirus would impact global economies. Each of the benchmark indexes listed here posted weekly gains, led by the Nasdaq, which advanced 2.21%, followed by an almost 2.0% bump in the small caps of the Russell 2000. Both large-cap indexes climbed higher, with the S&P 500 gaining 1.58% and the Dow pushing just past 1.0%.
Oil prices inched higher last week, closing at $52.09 per barrel by late Friday afternoon, up slightly from the prior week’s price of $50.47. The price of gold (COMEX) recovered last week, closing at $1,587.20 by late Friday afternoon, up from the prior week’s price of $1,573.90. The national average retail regular gasoline price was $2.419 per gallon on February 10, 2020, $0.036 lower than the prior week’s price but $0.143 more than a year ago. Click here for more: Winthrop Partners Weekly Update 2-18-2020
Thomas Saunders is the Managing Partner of Winthrop Partners. Prior to founding Winthrop Partners, Tom was Senior Vice President at what is now JP Morgan. His career includes senior and executive roles at Brown Brothers Harriman and First Niagara Bank, a top 25 Bank. Click here to contact Thomas Saunders about your investment and planning requirements.