The Factor Report

Market Wrap

For the week ended (early) July 2nd, 2026, stocks were higher everywhere in a rebound from the prior week's losses. Bonds were lower for the week as the iShares Core US Aggregate Bond ETF (AGG) fell 0.64% with yields holding falling; the 10-year US treasury yield rose to 4.49%, according to Yahoo Finance. Asset price drivers of the week:

• Renewed hopes (again) for a deal between the US and Iran got indices off on a good note on Monday, even though there was no real data on tap.
• Stocks continued the rally on Tuesday on the back of some mixed data. Home prices came in below expectations, as did consumer confidence, but job openings were much higher than forecast.
• Things turned south on Wednesday after a report showed that the US added fewer private sector jobs than estimated. That was not a good sign for Thursday's early June jobs report release.
• Stocks were mixed on Thursday after the aforementioned employment report. The US added half as many jobs as expected for the month, but unemployment ticked down and wages were right on forecasts. 
• US markets are closed on Friday in observance of Independence Day.
• Next week will be relatively quiet from a data standpoint, although we will get a look at weekly job adds and existing home sales.

Performance Summary

As shown in the chart, the US was the week's winner with Non-US Developed not far behind. Within the US, the tech-heavy Nasdaq was again a drag as the more traditional stocks of the Dow Jones Industrial Average outperformed. From a factor perspective, only Quality in the US beat the broader S&P 500.

In The News

What does history say about where stocks will go from here?

https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2026/06/29/where-stock-market-is-headed-after-wild-start-to-26?utm_source=email&utm_medium=enl&utm_campaign=earlywire&utm_content=06302026&oly_enc_id=3992A1328267B3X

If you're considering a Trump account, here's some tax incentive.

https://www.thinkadvisor.com/2026/06/29/irs-provides-gift-tax-relief-for-trump-accounts?utm_source=email&utm_medium=enl&utm_campaign=newsroomupdate&utm_content=06292026&oly_enc_id=3992A1328267B3X

How is the retail investor changing stock patterns?

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/5-charts-showing-how-dumb-money-is-transforming-the-stock-market-as-retail-traders-smash-wall-street-records-c651b4e5?mod=home_lead

Disclosures

Past performance may not be indicative of future results. Different types of investments involve varying degrees of risk. Therefore, it should not be assumed that future performance of any specific investment or investment strategy will be profitable or equal the corresponding indicated performance level(s). Moreover, you should not assume that any of the above content serves as the receipt of, or as a substitute for, personalized investment advice from Metric Financial.

All data and performance information sourced from Morningstar and MarketWatch, unless otherwise indicated.

USA is the MSCI USA index, Non-US Developed is the MSCI EAFE index, Emerging Markets is the MSCI Emerging Markets index, and All Country World is the MSCI ACWI index. One cannot invest in an index. Because the factor indexes have varying inception dates, some of the returns provided are back-tested and do not represent actual performance. Inception dates are as follows:

Momentum = MSCI ACWI Momentum NR USD Index (Inception: 11/30/95)

Value = MSCI ACWI Enhanced Value NR USD Index (Inception: 5/29/15)

Quality = MSCI ACWI Quality NR USD Index (Inception: 5/29/92)

Low Volatility = MSCI ACWI Minimum Volatility (USD) NR USD Index (Inception: 5/28/93)

Size = MSCI ACWI Risk Weighted NR USD Index (Inception: 4/6/11)

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All written content is for information purposes only. Opinions expressed herein are solely those of Metric, unless otherwise specifically cited. Material presented is believed to be from reliable sources and no representations are made by our firm as to another parties’ informational accuracy or completeness. All information or ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation.