The S&P 500 Index returned 1.84% last week, the best week since mid-July and seventh best week for the year. Equities shook off negative supply chain headlines and rallied on the strength of corporate earnings. The U.S. supply chain has been under duress as a result of the COVID pandemic. Inventory has been drying up as U.S. ports are clogged and freight via airlines has been held down by tepid passenger growth. President Biden held a summit with many supply chain organizations in an effort to alleviate some gridlock before the holiday shopping season. Despite supply issues, equities rallied as earnings season kicked off with some strong announcements last week.
Last week yields in the middle of the US Treasury Yield curve were up, the front end remained relatively unchanged and longer-dated yields fell. Wednesday of last week the Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting dated September 21-22 were released. The Fed indicated that tapering could begin as soon as mid-November and fully anticipates it will begin before 2022.
