Weekly Market Commentary 06/01/2018

The monthly employment report usually commands the spotlight in the week it is released. This time, however, it was overshadowed by a swirl of other headlines, led by a potential euro crisis surrounding the political chaos in Italy, and punctuated by an escalation of trade tensions that have simmered since president Trump took office. Needless to say, these geopolitical events had a profoundly disruptive effect on the financial markets. Stock prices went on a roller coaster ride and bond yields experienced one of the wildest swings in recent memory. That said, at the end of trading on Friday, Clara Peller from the iconic Wendy’s commercial could be heard asking, “where’s the beef?” Despite the tumultuous backdrop, the bellwether 10-year Treasury yield ended the week virtually unchanged from the previous week, mirroring a similar pattern in the stock market. The S&P 500 index closed at 2734, a mere 12 point increase from the previous week’s close.