July Jolt: Small-Caps & Bond Yields Plunge Most Since March 2020 COVID-19 Crash
Small-caps headed towards the end of the month with a loss for the first time since March 2020. The Nasdaq 100 outperformed on the month but was 'only' up 2.5%.
Source: Bloomberg
The S&P 500 was up for sixth straight month, its longest streak since 2018 (though it fell 0.5% on Friday, its worst day in two weeks). Diving into the week, Amazon (AMZN) saw no bounce at all on Friday after crashing from Thursday's earnings.
This pushed Amazon below Alphabet (GOOGL) in terms of market cap.
Source: Bloomberg
Energy stocks were ugly in July, while healthcare outperformed.
Source: Bloomberg
It was China that was really hammered in July, with the Shanghai Comp suffering its worst month since October 2018.
Source: Bloomberg
July saw the biggest yields drop in the belly of the curve since March 2020. Bonds were consistently bid in July, with the 7-year and 10-year Treasuries outperforming (-24 bps).
Source: Bloomberg
The Yield curve tumbled 18 bps, its fourth straight month of flattening.
Source: Bloomberg
The dollar ended the month flat after quite a roller-coaster.
Source: Bloomberg
Cryptocurrencies also had a roller-coaster month, but Bitcoin (BITCOMP) and Ethereum (ETH-X) ended significantly higher.
Source: Bloomberg
Commodities were mixed on the month with gold up, silver down, copper up, and crude flat.
Source: Bloomberg
Coffee roller-coastered as well amid Brazil Frost concerns (Friday saw the biggest drop since 2010 as fears subsided).
Source: Bloomberg
Finally, real yields collapsed in July to record, negative lows, suggesting gold has room to run here.
Source: Bloomberg
And just in case you think everything is going well because stocks are near record highs, investors parked more than $1 trillion at the Fed overnight.
Source: Bloomberg
US Economic Surprise data turned negative this week and is at its weakest since June 2020, while stocks levitate along with the Fed's balance sheet.
Source: Bloomberg
So, real economic data is slumping, the virus is re-emerging with the Delta variant, and China's Capital Markets are collapsing, but US stocks are at record highs.
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