June 17, 2020

Good morning,

Stocks look to extend their gains for the fourth day in a row after coming off last Thursday’s 6.9% decline for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.  The chart below illustrates the daily change over the last 10 days:

This volatility has many investors on edge as we work our way through this recession.  Many analysts believe we are in recovery but have been reevaluating the pace of what this recovery may look like as this is an unprecedented event driven recession with little historical data to go from. 

Home Buyers are taking advantage of record low interest rates.  According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, mortgage applications to purchase a home rose 4% last week and were 21% higher than a year ago.  Homeowners are also taking advantage of the record low interest rates with refinance applications up 10% for the week and 106% higher than a year ago. 

U.S. home construction also rose 4.3% in May after sharp declines in March and April, caused by the shutdown. 

Although there has been a recent spike in virus cases in states like Texas, Florida, Arizona and California, a COVID-19 treatment trial is showing success with a commonly used steroid Dexamethasone, which has indicated it may help reduce the risk of death in severe cases.  According to John Hopkins University, there are a total of 8.19 million cases, of which 2.13 million are in the U.S.

Please know we are available to answer any questions you may have and hope you are staying safe and healthy.