Stocks pulled back on concerns about a resurgence in infections. The S&P 500 fell 4.7% and the Dow dropped 5.5% for the week. Abroad, the FTSE All World Ex US declined 3.6% for the week. The yield on the 10-year Treasury sank as investors moved back to safe haven investments. It finished the week at 0.70% down from 0.90%, the previous week.
The organization responsible for dating recessions announced the US entered a recession in February ending the longest US expansion in modern history.
At the conclusion of the Fed’s June meeting they stated they planned to not raise interest rates through 2022 and to continue their current pace of Treasury and mortgage backed security purchases. They are also looking at other ways to support the economy.
Approximately 1.5 million people filed initial jobless claims last week continuing a downward trend. The total number of American getting unemployment benefits ticked down slightly to 20.9 million.
The UK said April GDP was down 25% from a year earlier.
OPEC agreed to extend current production cuts through July.