Goldilocks Job Report Revives Real Estate
- After snapping a six-week winning streak on flaring geopolitical tensions, U.S. equity markets picked up where they left off in 2019 with broad advances and new record highs this week.
- The S&P 500 gained 1.0% on the week while the tech-heavy Nasdaq climbed 2.0%. The 10-Year Treasury Yield ended the week higher by 4 basis points to close at 1.83%.
- The BLS employment report showed that job growth was slightly weaker than expected in December while wage gains cooled to the slowest rate of growth since July 2018.
- The "Goldilocks" jobs report was good news for real estate and other yield-sensitive equity sectors. REITs delivered a strong rally after the report to close the week in positive territory.
- Homebuilders were the standout this week, surging nearly 3% on strong earnings reports from entry-level-focused homebuilders Lennar and KB Home, powered by low mortgage rates and strong demographic-driven demand.
