Monday's ISM non-manufacturing services index was released, which returned to expansionary territory in July after a contraction in June. The data helped calm markets and allay fears late last week that the U.S. was headed for a recession after several weak economic data releases, including a weaker-than-expected jobs report. The non-manufacturing ISM, which covers most of the economy rose from 48.8 to 51.4 points. Meanwhile, the employment sub-index rose to 51.1 points from 46.1 and new orders increased to 52.4 from 47.3 points.
In addition, initial jobless claims were released on Thursday, which came in at 233,000, down 17,000 from June and below the 241,000 expected. This data, which does not suggest that the U.S. economy is on track for an imminent recession, was well received by the market. This was well received by the market, which after starting the week with sharp declines, ended the week with its main stock indexes, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq with small declines of -0.02% and -0.17%, respectively.
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