US markets recorded modest gains last Friday, with Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen's speech at the Economic Policy Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming turning out to be a case of "much ado about nothing" - Dow up +30-points or +0.14% (paring earlier gains that saw the index up over >100-points but nonetheless securing its firstly weekly advance in 3-weeks) and the broader S&P500 +0.17% to cap its best weekly advance in over a month. The technology-centric NASDAQ slipped -0.09%, with Amazon down -0.75%. Yellen noted that regulations put into action since the financial crisis have made the system "substantially safer" and boosted its resiliency. However, there was an absence of the hawkish tone some had expected and no indication around the central bank's plans for interest rate increases or intentions to trim its $4.5 trillion balance sheet. The US dollar index fell -0.6% - its weakest single session since July 14 and lowest settlement since May 2016 (92.374). Equity markets instead focussed on comments from President Trump's economic adviser, Gary Cohn, in an interview with the Financial Times that the administration will start publicly campaigning for highly anticipated tax reform this week. For the week, the Dow added +139-points or +0.64%, S&P500 +0.72% and the Nasdaq +0.79%.
