Stock Market Update

[BRIEFING.COM] The broader market held its ground following the release of the Fed's Beige Book, published at the bottom of the hour; the report found that economic activity increased slightly from late May through early July. Five Districts reported slight or modest gains, five had flat activity, and the remaining two Districts noted modest declines in activity. Uncertainty remained elevated, contributing to ongoing caution by businesses. Currently, the S&P 500 (+0.15%) is in second place, up about 10 points.

• Among other notable points from the report, employment increased very slightly overall, with one District noting modest increases, six reporting slight increases, three no change, and two noting slight declines. Hiring remained generally cautious, which many contacts attributed to ongoing economic and policy uncertainty.
• Although reports of layoffs were limited in all industries, they were somewhat more common among manufacturers. Looking ahead, many contacts expected to postpone major hiring and layoff decisions until uncertainty diminished.
• Prices increased across Districts, with seven characterizing price growth as moderate and five characterizing it as modest, mostly similar to the previous report. In all twelve Districts, businesses reported experiencing modest to pronounced input cost pressures related to tariffs, especially for raw materials used in manufacturing and construction. Rising insurance costs represented another widespread source of pricing pressure.
• Looking ahead, the outlook was neutral to slightly pessimistic, as only two Districts expected activity to increase, and others foresaw flat or slightly weaker activity.

Currently, the yield on the benchmark 10-yr treasury note is down about two and a half basis points at 4.462%.