Dow Rises for Third Consecutive Week

US stocks posted modest gains during the first week of August, led by the S&P 500 index with a gain of 1.82%. Within the S&P, health care and energy companies rose the most.

Pork belly future contracts jumped 18% for the week, while the US dollar fell to a 15-year low against the Japanese yen.

What follows is a summary of this week's statistics on the markets.

Dow Jones Industrial Average

• The Dow ended up 187.62 or 1.79% for the week, logging 3-consecutive weeks of gains
• The last time that the Dow finished up for 3-straight weeks or more was on 4/23 when the Dow ended an 8-week winning streak
• The Dow is up 555.66 points or 5.5% in the last 3-weeks
• The Dow has posted weekly percent gains of 1.5% or more approximately 31% of the time this year, including the current week
• 25 of the Dow 30 components rose for the week, while 4 companies fell
• Since 1896, the Dow has averaged gains of 0.35% during the 1st trading week of August, up 57% of the time, with its largest weekly increase of 16.16% in 1932, and worst weekly decline of -10.49% in 1896
• Historically & on average, August ranks as the 3rd best month out of the year for the Dow, with an avg. gain 1.27%, and up 65% of the time
• On Monday, the Dow closed up 208.44 or 1.99% at 10,674.38, marking its 7th largest 1-day point gain of the year
• There have been only 7 occurrences in 2010 when the Dow has closed up 208 points or more as opposed to 13 times for the same period last year
• The Dow is off by -3,510.97 or -24.79% from the market peak on October 9, 2007 of 14,164.53
• The Dow is off by -551.47 or -4.92% from its 2010 closing high of 11,205.03 reached on 4/26
• The Dow is currently up 967.08 or 9.98% from its 2010 closing low of 9686.48 reached on 7/2.
  

S&P 500

• The S&P 500 ended up 24.04 or 1.82% for the week, its first weekly increase since 7/23 when it rose 3.55%
• The S&P has posted weekly percent gains of 1.5% or more approximately 31% of the time this year, including the current week
• 366 (~73%) of the S&P 500 components advanced for the week, and 4 companies were flat
• Since 1928, the S&P has averaged gains of 0.33% during the 1st trading week of August, up 54% of the time, with its largest weekly increase of 12.77% in 1932, and worst weekly decline of -4.62% in 1974
• Historically and on average, August ranks as the 5th best month out of the year for the S&P, with an avg. gain 0.87%, and up 60% of the time
• On Monday, the S&P closed up 24.26 or 2.2% at 1125.86, marking its 7th largest 1-day point gain of the year
• There have been only 8 occurrences in 2010 when the S&P has closed up 24 points or more as opposed to 12 times for the same period last year
• The S&P is off by -443.51 or -28.34% from the market peak on October 9, 2007 of 1,565.15
• The S&P is off by -95.64 or -7.86% from its 2010 closing high of 1217.28 reached on 4/23.
  -The S&P is currently up 99.06 or 9.69% from its 2010 closing low of 1022.58 reached on 7/2.

NASDAQ Composite

• The NASDAQ Composite ended up 33.77 or 1.5% for the week, its first weekly increase since 7/23 when it rose 4.15%
• The NASDAQ Comp. has posted weekly percent gains of 1.5% or more approximately 37% of the time this year, including the current week
• 78 of the NASDAQ 100 components increased for the week, only 1 company finished flat
• Since 1971, the NASDAQ has averaged losses of -0.12% during the 1st trading week of August, down 54% of the time, with its largest weekly increase of 7.39% in 1984, and worst weekly decline of -5.85% in 2004
• Historically & on average, August ranks as the 8th best month out of the year for the NASDAQ, with an avg. gain 0.4%, and up 56% of the time
• On Monday, the NASDAQ closed up 40.66 or 1.8% at 2295.36, marking its 10th largest 1-day point gain of the year
• There have been only 11 occurrences in 2010 when the NASDAQ has closed up 40 points or more as opposed to 20 times for the same period last year
• The NASDAQ is off by -570.65 or -19.96% from its 6-year high reached on October 31, 2007 of 2,859.12
• The NASDAQ is off by -241.68 or -9.55% from its 2010 closing high of 2530.15 reached on 4/23
• The NASDAQ is currently up 196.68 or 9.4% from its 2010 closing low of 1022.58 reached on 7/2
  

S&P 500 Sectors

All ten sectors closed the week in positive territory, with health care and energy companies leading the way to the upside.

• PerkinElmer was the biggest percent gainer in the health care sector, up 15% for the week
• Energy stocks were helped by Anadarko Petroleum, up 13% this week
• Year-to-date, four sectors are trading in positive territory, with industrial and consumer discretionary stocks up the most

More Weekly Stats Here

Commodity Impact:Crude oil for September delivery settled at $80.7 per barrel on Friday, up $1.75, or 2.22% for the week. Crude is up 18.66% from its 2010 settle low of $68.01 hit on May 20.

• Pork belly futures contracts were among the best performing commodities this week, up 18%, while natural gas futures were among the worst, down 9%

Currencies Impact: The US dollar fell to a 15-year low against the yen, following a disappointing jobs report, which boosted the Japanese currency safe-haven appeal.

Global Index Performance:

Note: Data based on preliminary numbers. May adjust slightly due to settling at close.

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