Despite a sharp dip for markets to open trading last Monday amid peak growth concerns and mounting global Delta variant Covid cases, U.S. equities managed to rally back and push to new highs last week as investors turned their attention to strong corporate earnings results.

U.S. equities fell last week despite strong bank earnings and June retail sales. For the week, the S&P 500 was down 0.97%, the Nasdaq down 1.87%, and the Dow Jones down 0.52%. Meanwhile, long-term interest rates have tumbled in recent weeks with the 10-year Treasury yield falling to 1.21% as of Monday morning July 19, down from 1.5% a month ago and the first quarter high of 1.75%.

U.S. equities managed to eke out small gains last week despite some mid-week turbulence as expectations for near-term economic growth have moderated a bit, in part due to continued labor shortages and supply chain bottlenecks, alongside concerns on new Covid-19 variants.

The market has recorded a strong run in 2021, with the S&P 500, Dow Jones, and Nasdaq up 14.41%, 12.73%, and 12.54% year to date (as of 6/30/21) respectfully. The S&P 500 registered its fifth straight month of gains. The Nasdaq posted its seventh positive month in the last eight, and while the Dow was red for June, it had previously notched a four-month high.

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