Winthrop Partners Weekly Update 2-24-2020

The Markets (as of market close February 21, 2020)

The run of positive weekly market gains ended last week as each of the benchmark indexes listed here lost value. The spread of the coronavirus from China to other countries has investors worried about the impact on global economies. Tech stocks were hit hard as the Nasdaq dropped 1.59%, followed by the Dow, which lost close to 1.40%. The large-cap S&P 500 fell 1.25%, followed by the Global Dow and the small caps of the Russell 2000. Money seemed to flow from stocks to long-term bonds and gold, pushing prices higher. The 10-year Treasuries saw yields fall 11 basis points (prices and yields move in opposite directions) while the price of gold jumped almost 4.00% over the prior week’s closing price.

Oil prices rose higher last week, closing at $53.35 per barrel by late Friday afternoon, up from the prior week’s price of $52.09. The price of gold (COMEX) soared last week, closing at $1,646.10 by late Friday afternoon, up from the prior week’s price of $1,587.20. The national average retail regular gasoline price was $2.428 per gallon on February 17, 2020, $0.009 higher than the prior week’s price and $0.111 more than a year ago. Click here for more Winthrop Partners Weekly Update 2-24-2020