Insights & Understanding

The increased number of COVID-19 cases appears to be pressuring employment in the United States.

Retail sales beat expectations, new aid packages are being negotiated, and the S&P 500 is now positive for the year.

Stocks continued to climb in the face of an increasing number of new COVID-19 cases and evidence the surge is stifling the economy’s ability to recover.

The S&P 500 wrapped up its best quarter since 1998, gaining 20.5 percent, amid a strong employment report and continued concerns around the virus.

The daily total for new virus cases topped 40,000 as a resurgence in the South and Southwest pushed new cases to an all-time-record high.

Retail sales and food services jumped 17.7 percent in May, beating estimates of 8 percent growth. The strong rebound follows sharp declines the previous month created by social distancing.

The S&P 500 dropped 4.7 percent last week on concerns the uptick in new coronavirus cases would persist and slow the economic rally.

The jobs market rallied back far sooner and stronger than expected. The U.S. economy created 2.5 million new jobs in May. Economists had projected a loss of 7 million jobs, so the surprise was massive.

Coronavirus actions and reactions continued to swing economic data in the United States. Consumer spending dropped 13.6 percent in April.

The loosening of lock downs and falling virus cases encouraged modest increases in economic activity.