Fed policy and job gains boost equity markets

Central banks around the world largely reinforced a slower transition away from historically accommodative policies, which supported global equity markets last week. The S&P 500 gained 2.0%, locking in its fifth consecutive weekly gain. The tech-heavy NASDAQ and DJIA added 3.1% and 1.4%, respectively. Outside the U.S., the MSCI EAFE and ACWI ex USA indexes each gained over 1%, while the MSCI EM Index was mostly flat, weighed down once again by losses in Chinese equities.