Last week, we talked about the relative-strength turn towards Technology stocks that started in the middle of May. It just happened to coincide with the decline in the long end of the Treasury yield curve to the downside. If a pop in rates hurts Tech stocks, then a retracement in rates should help the sector. The 10- and 30-year Treasury yields have fallen only two to three basis points over the past month, which is not all that much. But perhaps more importantly, they stopped going up.

Last week featured a Fed meeting in which nothing changed (yet everything changed), and the stock market suffered its worst five days since January. The pain was distributed unevenly, with the DJIA dropping 3.5%, the S&P 500 down 1.91%, and the Nasdaq off only 0.3%.

The Vickers Top Buyers & Sellers is a daily report that identifies the five companies the largest insider purchase transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions as well as the five companies the largest insider sales transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions.

Stocks were mixed on Thursday morning as investors process the Fed's policy decision. Interest rates will remain near zero but 13 of the FOMC's 18 members expect at least one rate hike by the end of 2023. The central bank will continue to purchase at least $120 billion a month in agency mortgage-backed securities and U.S. Treasuries. In other news, initial jobless claims rose to 412,000 for the week ended June 12. The Dow fell 0.9%, the S&P was down 0.3% and the Nasdaq was up 0.6%. Crude oil traded near $70 per barrel, while gold fell $7 to $1774 per ounce.

With Treasury yields falling back toward the lower end of their three-month range (in a move that started in mid-May), the S&P Technology Sector SPDR Fund (XLK) as well as the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) have risen from their recent slumber and are again demonstrating market leadership. The interest-rate scare for some of the mega-cap Tech stocks began early this year, though others started to lag back in 2020.

Sustainable Impact investing continues to grow. According to Opimas, a management consultancy focused on global capital markets, global assets under management in ESG strategies grew to $40.5 trillion in 2020, doubling in four years and tripling in eight. As assets have flowed in, SRI investing has evolved over the past 40 years. Now, instead of merely identifying industries to avoid, the discipline promotes "sustainable" business practices across all businesses that can have an "impact" on global issues such as workers' rights, poverty, hunger, and the climate. Based on numerous requests from clients, we have compiled a portfolio of companies followed by Argus Research that are in position to have this type of "sustainable impact" on the environment, workplace, and community. These firms have exemplary records not only in delivering on the bottom line, but also in improving the environment, contributing to community relations, and showing respect for their employees. We built our portfolio by identifying companies that are BUY-rated by Argus analysts and also score well on ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) criteria established by the JUST Capital Foundation. JUST Capital utilizes a combination of polling, data-driven research, and strategic engagement to shift behaviors and activities in corporate America and the financial markets. JUST Capital's mission is to drive measurable corporate change to create a stakeholder-centric, inclusive form of capitalism that reflects the priorities of the American public. JUST ranks the Russell 1000 on these criteria against a scale of 1-100. Here are company highlights from the Argus U.S. ESG Model Portfolio.

The Vickers Top Buyers & Sellers is a daily report that identifies the five companies the largest insider purchase transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions as well as the five companies the largest insider sales transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions.

This pick list highlights constituents of the Morningstar US Large Cap Index that we believe offer investors the best risk-adjusted return prospects. Stocks of large-cap companies where neither growth nor value characteristics predominate. Stocks in the top 70% of the capitalization of the U.S. equity market are defined as large cap.

The Vickers Top Buyers & Sellers is a daily report that identifies the five companies the largest insider purchase transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions as well as the five companies the largest insider sales transactions based on the dollar value of the transactions.

Inflation Fears Shadow Reopening: Our Monthly Survey of the Economy, Interest Rates, and Markets

For the month of May, the S&P 500 managed to eke out a 0.6% gain; the Nasdaq made a nice comeback, cutting its loss to 1.5%; the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ) dropped 1.2%; the S&P 400 rose 0.2%; and the Russell 2000 (IWM) rose 0.3%. Once again, action was seen in all 11 S&P sectors as well as in individual names.

June is not one of the better months for stocks, according to our analysis of market returns since 1980. On average, equity investors in June eke out a 0.3% positive return for the month. Only February, August, and September are weaker months. The winning percentage is 61%, higher than only higher the 3Q summer months. We note that market returns in June have exceeded 5% only twice in the past 37 years: a 5.4% increase in 1999 and a 6.9% gain in 2019. Clunkers? We have seen a few, including 2008 (-8.6%), 2002 (-7.2%), 2010 (-6.1%) and 1991 (-4.8%). June is typically a quiet month, as the second quarter draws to a close. Few companies report earnings. The Federal Reserve meets, and, while it won't be lowering rates, we expect to hear Fed Chairman Powell comment on the potential for the central bank to start a discussion about tapering its $120 billion per-month asset-purchase program. Stocks are off to a strong start in 2021, with a 12% year-to-date gain. Valuations are stretched, though, and June may well be a month during which the bull market takes a breather.

The stock market moved higher last week, with technology stocks outperforming blue chips. During Friday's session, the Dow Jones Industrial Average increased 65 points, or 0.19%. The S&P 500 was up 0.08%, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 0.09%. For the week, the DJIA was up 322 points, or 0.94%, the S&P 500 was up 1.16%, and the Nasdaq Composite was up 2.06%. Year-to-date, the DJIA is up 12.82%, the S&P 500 is up 11.93%, and the Nasdaq Composite is up 6.68%.

This edition features Ford's electric future; the funeral industry in Australia; Amazon's move to buy MGM; and notes from Toll Brothers, General Mills, and Intuit.

The Commerce Department has reported that 1Q21 GDP rose at a 6.4% rate -- in line with the advance estimate announced last month. As we typically do for the second estimate, let's take a closer look at the key contributing sectors to GDP. First, the Consumer. During 1Q, personal consumption expenditures grew at an 11% pace and contributed 60.8% of core demand (which we define as personal consumption expenditures, equipment and intellectual property spending, housing, exports and government expenditures). This is in line with the 10-year average, as the consumer sector, which is the most-important component of the economy, is continuing to recover from the impact of the pandemic. Capital investments into equipment rose 13% and accounted for a consistent 5.3% of total GDP, while capital investments into intellectual property rose 17% and accounted for a high 4.4% of total GDP, compared to the historical average of 3.7%. Exports remained under pressure (accounting of 9.3% of total demand compared to historical average of 10.8%) as did government (accounting for 15.9% of total demand compared to historical average of 16.5%). It is our thesis that as U.S. GDP recovers to pre-COVID-19 levels, various sectors will recover at different paces. We look for consumer spending and capital investments into IP to be among the leading contributors to recovery.

The Housing Economy Awaits its Next Act

Stocks rose strongly on Monday morning, led by the Technology and Communication Services sectors, as investors awaited personal consumption data later in the week. The yield on the 10-year Treasury fell back to 1.6% while the dollar traded at a nearly 4-month low against other major currencies. The Dow rose 0.7%, the S&P 1.1%, and the Nasdaq 1.5%. Crude oil rose more than 2% to $65 per barrel, while gold rose $8 to $1885 per ounce.

Vickers Stock Research, a subsidiary of Argus Research Group, tracks and analyzes insider trading and institutional ownership trends. Form 13Fs are due 45 days after the end of calendar quarters, and are just now coming in from 1Q21. We like to review the 13Fs of the major activist investors, including Carl Icahn, Trian Fund Management, Jana Partners, and ValueAct Holdings, among others. Activist investing has evolved in recent years and is now less about generating a short-term return on an underpriced stock and more about achieving long-term returns through an active management/investor partnership. Here are some recent new purchases and key holdings of activist investors, according to Vickers.

Stocks rose on Thursday morning after three days of losses, led by the Technology and Consumer Discretionary sectors. On the employment front, the Labor Department said that first-time claims for state unemployment benefits fell to 444,000 for the week ended May 15, down from 478,000 a week earlier and slightly below the Bloomberg consensus of 450,000. The Dow rose 0.6%, the S&P 0.8%, and the Nasdaq 1.4%. Crude oil fell to $63 per barrel, while gold traded near $1879 per ounce.