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U.S. equities finished higher last week (S&P 500 +0.7%; Russell 2000 was -1.0%). Value and cyclicals outperformed growth and defensives despite the continued pickup in concerns about the spread of the Delta variant of the coronavirus. A further backup in rates fit with this trend though the broader market may have also been helped as a softer-than-expected core CPI contained the move. Outperformers included materials (+2.7%), consumer staples (+2.1%), and financials (+1.9%); the only sector that declined was energy (-0.4%).

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