Despite the pullback, major indexes hovered near record highs set earlier in the week or the previous week. The primary driver was renewed trade tensions after the U.S. announced new tariffs on more than 20 countries, including steep duties on Brazilian and Canadian goods. Investors also digested the passage of the new tax bill and learned that the US operated in the red for the second time this year with a $27 billion surplus driven by strong tax receipts and tariff revenues.

Other markets reacted to a mix of inflation signals, geopolitical risk, and shifting expectations around Fed policy. These drivers lifted both oil and gold, moved bond yields higher, and pushed the dollar to multi-year lows before a late week rebound.

This holiday-shortened week has the potential to pack a big punch, with three major economic reports on deck that could shape the market’s next move. All this being delivered while many will be on vacation (which typically leads to light volumes) could introduce some volatility.

Retail sales declined slightly, seemingly largely due to lower gas and auto spending, but the underlying figures (excluding certain volatile categories) showed consumer spending remained relatively resilient. That’s important given how critical consumer activity is to overall economic growth.

Friday’s strong jobs report sent 10-year Treasury yields up over 4.5%, as a resilient labor market could mean the Federal Reserve keeps rates higher for longer, but there was little movement in the US Dollar last week.