Stocks posted their fourth straight week of declines driven by trade tensions. The S&P 500 declined 2.6% and the Dow sank 3.0% for the week. For the month both indices fell over 6.6%. Abroad, Europe dropped 1.8% and Japan eased 2.4% for the week. The yield on the 10-year Treasury ended the week and month at 2.14%. It was the largest one-month yield decline since 2015 and the 10-year yield reached its lowest level since September 2017. Yields on German bonds hit an all-time low. Oil prices fell 16.3% in May to their lowest level in three months ending at $53.50 a barrel.
President Trump threatened 5% tariffs on all Mexican goods beginning June 10th and they would grow to 25% in October if the country doesn’t do more to stop the flow of immigrants into the US.
Home price growth rose 3.7% for the year ended in March, down from the prior month.
First quarter GDP growth was revised down slightly to 3.1% from 3.2%.
The personal consumption expenditures index, the Fed’s preferred gauge, rose 0.3% in April from March, its largest monthly gain since January. The move could provide support for the Fed’s thinking that the current soft patch for inflation will be short-lived. However, the trailing year core index is up 1.6%, still well below the 2% target.
The Justice Dept. plans to begin an antitrust investigation into Google.