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Retail Sales Drive Stock Markets Higher as the Fed Promises to Buy More Corporate Bonds and Oil Jumps 10%

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The U.S. stock markets did not erase last week’s losses, but did turn in some very healthy positive numbers for investors
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NASDAQ led the way with a gain of 3.7%, followed by the smaller-cap Russell 2000’s gain of 2.2%, the 1.9% return for the S&P 500 and the 1.0% move for the DJIA
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Most of the 11 S&P 500 sectors ended the week in positive territory, as only 3 were negative with the Utilities sector losing 2.4% and the Energy and Real Estate sectors each losing less than 1%
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Health Care led the other 8 sectors with a 3.1% return on the week, followed by Information Technology (up 2.8%) and Consumer Staples (up 2.4%)
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The markets started the week lower, but on Tuesday the Commerce Department delivered a jolt of great news when it was announced that Retail Sales leapt 17.7% in May, far exceeding expectations
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Initial jobless claims for the week remained uncomfortably high at 1.5 million
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WTI crude futures jumped 10% on the week and ended just shy of $40/barrel
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The 2-year Treasury yield increased to 0.19% and the 10-year yield ended the week where it started
- The U.S. Dollar Index gained 0.4%