After a sharp rally up from mid-June market lows, the positive momentum in U.S. equities has cooled off in recent days as members of the Federal Reserve have pushed back against a growing narrative that the central bank may start easing back from restrictive policy near-term.

Stocks notched their fourth straight winning week with gains Friday after the monthly report from the University of Michigan showed a pop in consumer confidence, marking the second consecutive gain for the index since June.

Despite the growing fears of potential recession after two consecutive quarters of falling U.S. economic output, the July jobs report soared past expectations and showed continued robust hiring that runs counter to the narrative of economic weakness.

Equity markets surged higher last week, capping off the highest monthly returns since July of 2020, as future rate hike expectations slid lower following the Federal Reserve meeting and corporate earnings broadly continued to come in better than feared.

U.S. equities posted their largest weekly gains in a month last week as beaten down growth stocks surged while long-term interest rates dipped lower.