This Weekly Financial Markets Update reviews the top market headlines: Existing Home Sales Rebound in February, Fed Maintains Current Policy Rate, Industrial Output Jumps on Vehicle Builds
  • February existing home sales rose 4.2% from the prior month
  • The Federal Reserve left the federal funds target rate range unchanged at 4.25%-4.50%
  • Auto manufacturing drove an increase of 0.7% in industrial production in February

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Top Three Market Headlines

Existing Home Sales Rebound in February: Sales of existing homes in the U.S. rose by 4.2% in February from the prior month to reach a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.26 million units. The increase followed a dip in sales of nearly 5% in January. The National Association of Realtors, which released the data, attributed the strength in February to pent-up housing demand combined with a greater inventory of homes on the market. At the end of February, total housing inventory was up 5% from January and 17% from the prior year. The report also noted that the median existing home sales price in February rose 3.8% from the prior year.

Fed Maintains Current Policy Rate: The U.S. Federal Reserve voted last week to hold its benchmark policy interest rate, the federal funds rate, at the current range of 4.25%-4.50%. This marked the second time this year the central bank left the policy rate unchanged since cutting it by a percentage point over the final three meetings of 2024. At the same time, the Fed's updated "dot plot" depicting Fed governors' expectations for future rate levels continued to forecast two rate cuts in 2025. Looking forward, Fed officials lowered their collective forecast for 2025 U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) while raising their inflation forecast.

Industrial Output Jumps on Vehicle Builds: U.S. industrial production rose 0.7% in February over the prior month, according to the Federal Reserve, marking three consecutive monthly increases in output. Across major industry groups, manufacturing production increased 0.9%, propelled by an 8.5% jump in motor vehicles and parts, while mining registered a 2.8% monthly gain and utilities declined 2.5%. During the month, capacity utilization across production facilities rose from 77.8% to 78.2%, and while this remained below the long-term average of 79.6% it was the highest level since June of last year.

As of March 21, 2025 Week Quarter-To-Date Year-To-Date One-Year
MSCI All Country World 0.73% 0.35% 0.35% 9.10%
S&P 500 0.53% -3.34% -3.34% 9.60%
Russell 2000 0.65% -7.51% -7.51% -0.65%
MSCI EAFE 0.78% 10.26% 10.26% 8.17%
MSCI Emerging Markets 1.15% 5.65% 5.65% 10.51%
FTSE NAREIT Equity -0.42% -0.88% -0.88% 9.15%
Bloomberg Commodity 0.47% 7.64% 7.64% 11.17%
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate 0.49% 2.59% 2.59% 5.27%

Federal Reserve 3/19/2025, Federal Reserve 3/18/2025 and 3/19/2025, WSJ 3/20/2025, Nat'l Assoc. of Realtors 3/20/2025. FactSet. Data from Morningstar Direct. Returns for periods greater than one year are annualized. Investment advisory, named and independent fiduciary services are offered through Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors, LLC, an SEC Registered Investment Adviser. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors, LLC does not express an investment opinion regarding any specific commodity, sector or individual security. Unless otherwise expressly noted, the contents of this communication do not constitute securities or investment advice, nor should this communication be construed as an opinion regarding the appropriateness of any investment. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors, LLC is a single-member, limited-liability company, with Gallagher Benefit Services, Inc. as its single member. Neither Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors, LLC nor their affiliates provide accounting, legal or tax advice. The information provided cannot take into account all the various factors that may affect your particular situation, therefore you should consult your Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors consultant before acting upon any information or recommendation contained herein to discuss the suitability of the information/recommendation for your specific situation.