The Major Markets closed mostly higher as the Nasdaq, Dow Jones, S&P 500, and MSCI World Indices all closed higher with each seeing new all-time highs last week. Furthermore, the S&P 500 traded over 3100 for the first time ever on Tuesday, followed by the Dow crossing over 28,000 for the first time on Friday.

To say that Emerging Markets didn’t fair as well would be an understatement. The category fell 1.5% last week due to continuing pressures in China. The MSCI China index experience a 3% pullback as tensions between the mainland and Hong Kong reached a new level.

Protesters have now taken arms with bows and arrows, bricks, and Molotov cocktails in their resistance from police. Hong Kong’s Polytechnic University has become a stronghold for students and protestors while police try to retake control. This turmoil has had a significant economic impact on the region as the MSCI Hong Kong Index fell over 5% last week and sits just above flat for the year.

Finally, back stateside, the longer end of the yield curve traded lower. As of Friday’s close, the 2-year fell 7 basis points, while the 10-year fell 10 basis points. The cumulative decline in interest rates this year has led to an impressive return in most of the bond indices. Year to date, the Bloomberg Barclays US Aggregate Bond Index sits with an impressive 8.3% return.







