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This Week's Market Review

The stock market had a big up week as improving fundamentals and a belief that the Fed may be done raising rates brought buyers back to the marketplace. The week was filled with positive earnings reports from the likes of Merck, BellSouth, Altria, and Texas Instruments, to name a few. Second quarter numbers are coming in at a 13% to 14% increase in operating earnings with nearly two-thirds of the S&P 500 having now reported. Guidance for the third quarter continues to remain in the 12% to 15% range. The biggest news for the week was the GDP number released on Friday. Second quarter real GDP came in at a modest 2.5% increase, suggesting that the Fed is getting the soft landing they desire while giving no indication of a sharp slowdown in the economy. Some concerns do remain, however, as oil continues to trade over $70 per barrel, ending the week over $73 per barrel. The fear of geopolitical events or a disruptive hurricane also remain that could cause inflation to rise and prompt the Fed to raise rates further.

The DOW closed the week up, gaining 351.32 points to close at 11219.70 The S&P rose 3.1%, climbing 38.26 points, ending the week at 1278.55. The NASDAQ jumped 3.7%, adding 73.75 points, ending the week at 2094.14.