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The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.79 percent last week, the S&P 500 Index 0.63 percent, the Russell 2000 Index 0.55 percent and the Nasdaq 0.06 percent.

SPDR Industrial (XLI) advanced 3.19 percent, SPDR Energy (XLE) 2.77 percent and SPDR Consumer Discretionary (XLY) 2.29 percent.

Data continues to show an improving economy. The June Job Openings & Labor Turnover Survey (JOLTS) showed 5.9 million job openings, up 10 percent from May’s level. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment survey climbed to 72.8 in July, beating expectations.

Inflation increased in July with both the producer and consumer indexes seeing sharp one-month gains. The producer price index climbed 0.6 percent, doubling analyst expectations. The headline CPI also rose 0.6 percent, exceeding forecasts. Most ominous was the core CPI that strips out food and energy. It also spiked 0.6 percent, triple what economists expected. The high inflation numbers contributed to falling bond prices this week.

Initial claims for unemployment fell to 963,000, the first number below 1 million since the start of the pandemic. Continuing claims fell 600,000 to 15.5 million.

Retail sales climbed 1.2 percent in July, missing forecasts of 2.0 percent. Retail sales ex-autos grew 1.9 percent.

Bonds declined this week, led by a weak 30-year Treasury auction. iShares 20+ Year Treasury (TLT) fell 3.94 percent. iShares iBoxx Investment Grade Corporate Bond (LQD) slid 2.41 percent and iShares iBoxx High Yield Corporate Bond (HYG) 1.30 percent. Invesco Senior Loan (BKLN) gained 0.74 percent on the week.

Value stocks extended their gains on Monday. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 1.30 percent. The S&P 500 Index rose 0.27 percent, while the Nasdaq fell 0.39 percent.

SPDR Energy (XLE) popped 3.09 percent to start the week. SPDR Industrials (XLI) rose 2.46 percent and SPDR Consumer Discretionary (XLY) 1.20 percent.

President Trump signed an executive order on coronavirus relief over the weekend. The federal government will pay $300 per week in extra unemployment benefits. States will have to contribute $100 if they choose. Trump’s order taps unspent disaster relief funds from the current budget. There were also three memoranda extending foreclosure protection, student loan deferrals and deferred payroll taxes.

The National Federation of Independent Business release its small-business confidence index tomorrow. Producer prices will also be out. Economists anticipate prices increased 0.3 percent in July.

Consumer prices are forecast to rise 0.4 percent, with the core CPI up 0.2 percent.

Economists see initial jobless claims sliding to 1.10 million for the week ended August 8.

Analysts project July retail sales climbed 2.0 percent, with sales ex-autos up 1.1 percent. The University of Michigan’s advance reading of August consumer sentiment is expected to dip slightly from July’s number.

Shares of Royal Caribbean (RCL) climbed 10 percent on Monday, despite reporting a second-quarter loss. While the company missed earnings estimates by a wide margin, investors were focused on revenue. Analysts expected $43.5 million in sales, but Royal Caribbean saw $175.6 million, a sign the cruise industry could bounce back faster than expected.

On Tuesday, investors will hear from Sysco (SYY), Lumentum (LITE) and Broadridge Financial (BR).

Cisco (CSCO) headlines Wednesday earnings reports. Macy’s (M) also kicks off the heart of retail earnings season.

Applied Materials (AMAT), Baidu (BIDU), NetEase (NTES) and Tapestry (TPR) report on Thursday.

The week closes out with Draft Kings (DKNG) and Remark Holdings (MARK).