While stocks react to earnings reports versus expectations and the forward guidance from management teams, we often look for signs of inflection in earnings and the economy. Major market indices declined 1-3% yesterday, with technology shares bearing the brunt of the selloff, as second quarter earnings continue to roll out. We can let some of …
July 22, 2024 – It has been a tumultuous week both politically and in the equity markets, but each marched to a different tune. Equity investors worried about earnings amid a slowing economy and fears that the surge in tech stocks may be ending, at least in the short-term. The half dozen leading tech names will all report earnings over the next 10 days with the exception of Nvidia which won’t report until mid-August. Reaction to those results will dictate how markets are likely to behave over the next several weeks
Over the space of eight days, former President Trump was shot, the Republicans held their convention and picked a populist to run to be Vice-President, and President Biden announced his intention not to run for reelection. At the same time, equity markets went on a wild ride, largely unrelated to the political landscape. Massive rotation …
July 18, 2024 – This past week’s stock market volatility has been characterized by a sharp decline in the Nasdaq, driven by weakness in tech stocks due to concerns about U.S.-China trade relations. This decline coincides with a rotation from growth stocks to value stocks, particularly small caps, spurred by expectations of lower interest rates and a potential shift in political leadership. While economic data has been positive, consumer sentiment has weakened due to high prices and some concerns about the labor market.
Market rotation U.S. stocks experienced a notable decline yesterday, with the Nasdaq Composite Index suffering a loss of 2.8%, its most significant loss since December 2022. This downturn was primarily driven by weakness in big tech stocks, particularly in the semiconductor sector, due to concerns about potential stricter U.S. trade restrictions on China. Since its …
July 15, 2024 – Despite recent gains, lower interest rates and the prospects for future earnings growth suggest markets are fairly priced. Most investors are optimists but game theory tells us to look always for non-conforming facts that might disprove our thesis. We delve into that this morning.
The primary purpose behind game theory is to reach a correct ultimate conclusion. Typically, one starts with a hypothesis and then seeks conforming evidence to buttress it. But game theory teaches you that often leads to incorrect results. Rather, it’s the failure to disprove a hypothesis that reinforces the conclusion. Let me give a simple …
July 11, 2024 – The Apollo 11 moon landing occurred 55 years ago this week. The challenge to get to the moon took about 8 years to realize, but eventually was achieved. It feels like we have been anticipating a rate cut from the Fed for that long, although it has only been about 1 year since the Fed stopped raising interest rates. Fed Chairman Powell pivoted a bit yesterday in his testimony to Congress, stating that the balance of risks has shifted, giving a boost to September rate cut expectations.
There were six crewed moon landings from 1969 to 1972. While the first moon landing was very memorable, very few people remember the next five moon missions. Similarly, if we get six quarter-point rate cuts, that would only reduce rates by 1.5% from the current 5.25-5.5%. However, the timing of the first cut is important …
July 8, 2024 – Equity investing success over the past few years has meant concentrating on technology. Over the past year, that focus has narrowed to AI. Has it been overdone? The answer suggests no, as long as the AI leaders can come close to meeting growth targets.
This past week was dominated by politics. While I will leave the questions surrounding the future of Biden’s candidacy to others, I would note that investors don’t tend to factor in the unknowns until the outcomes become more obvious than they are today. As Trump’s likelihood to become President rose in the aftermath of the …
July 1, 2024 – Amid all the turmoil following the debates, markets have been relatively calm. Politically, there are still more unknowns than knowns. Economically speaking, this is a shortened week with July 4th on Thursday and limited action on Friday. The key number, which comes Friday, is the employment report. Given the recent good inflation news, one wants to see a solid number that reduces any thought of recession.
What a week. While it was relatively calm in the stock market with sparse economic data and few major earnings reports, the Trump/Biden debate and Supreme Court decisions dominated the headlines. As investors, our job is to fit the seemingly non-economic news into our decision-making process. Let’s start with the debate. The obvious is that …
June 27, 2024 – Signs of a slowing U.S. economy have been on display this week. This morning, we learned that continuing jobless claims rose to 1.84 million, the highest level since 2021. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4% last month. A slew of corporate earnings reports also support the view that, outside of AI, economic growth is moderating.
We just heard from Walgreens, H&M, and Levi’s and all reported weak retail results that suggest the consumer is pulling back. Pool Corp, a seller of new pool systems and supplies, issued a warning that it expects new pool builds and remodels to be down 15 to 20% this year as compared to their previous …
June 24, 2024 – As the U.S. incurs more and more debt, the cost to service that debt becomes a bigger and bigger burden. Can we as a country continue to load up on debt or is there a reckoning in the near future? History will give us some clues as to what the future might hold.
For decades we have heard cries about deficits that are too large and the surge in the amount of U.S. debt outstanding. In the Ronald Reagan years deficits of $100 billion were eye opening. Today they are 20x as large. The accumulation of deficits has been financed with debt, of course, now totaling $34 trillion. …
June 20, 2024 – “The only thing that is constant is change.” This concept was proffered over 2,500 years ago, but certainly rings true today. As investors, we tend to focus on change. A change in corporate management, a change in the earnings outlook, a change in interest rates, inflation or the economy, a change in technology, or a changing of the political guard. Recent reports from homebuilders, industrial production and retail sales highlight the changes in the economy taking place and the opposing signals evident.
Lennar#, the largest homebuilder in the U.S., announced Monday that second-quarter earnings grew 15% on a 9% revenue increase compared to a year ago. These results were ahead of expectations, although Lennar’s backlog and margin outlook were both a bit light. Lennar noted that consumers are still pressured by higher mortgage rates, but seem to …
June 17, 2024 – Good economic news last week yielded a much stronger reaction from the bond market than the stock market. Tech stocks continued to gain on the back of good earnings from Broadcom# and Adobe#. But elsewhere, stocks are looking for broadening leadership. The economic reality is that all the earnings growth so far this year has been concentrated within a half-dozen tech stocks. Until the rest of the corporate world participates, further progress may be a struggle. Markets are a composite of economic messages. Some are accurate while others are not. It is the job of investors to separate hype from reality.
Last week was a big one for economic news. Both consumer and producer prices rose less than forecasted despite stubbornly high shelter related costs which continued to rise at a pace of over 4% annualized. Sandwiched between the two major economic releases, the Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee kept interest rates steady but hinted toward …
June 13, 2024 – Yesterday, the Fed maintained its target interest rate at a 23-year high, signaling a slower pace of monetary policy easing than was anticipated at the beginning of the year. Once again, the central bank reminded us that it aims to bring inflation down to its 2% target before considering rate cuts.
Their new forecast suggests one rate cut in 2024, down from previous estimates of three, but with four cuts projected for 2025, up from three. The decision came after the Consumer Price Index showed a 3.3% increase in May compared to the same period last year, an improvement from April. The Fed’s cautious approach to …
June 10, 2024 – While stocks soar, much of our economy struggles to make ends meet, a combination of lower post-pandemic savings and the cumulative impact of inflation. This bifurcation has both economic and political implications. The temptation of government to artificially rebalance our economic world may appeal to some at the surface but more likely will lead to further distortions.
As equities continue to edge higher into new record territory, investors continue to receive a mixed bag of economic news. Last week, most notably, bond yields edged lower while key economic reports were mixed. Friday’s employment report showed surprising gains if one looks at the employer survey, but a less robust picture if one looks …
June 6, 2024 – This year two cicada insect groups will emerge in the U.S.: a 13-year cicada brood in the Southeastern U.S. and a 17-year cicada brood in the Midwest. Why they emerge on these cycles is not fully understood, and sometimes they are off by 1-4 years. Markets move in cycles longer term as well, but can be just as unpredictable on a short-term basis.
Apparently, “periodical” cicadas focus on the growth cycles of the trees that they feed on through the roots during the spring budding process. That is what they count for 13 or 17 years, but no one knows why. Also, this co-emergence of cicadas has not happened in 221 years! Earnings cycles, bull and bear market …
June 3, 2024 – The story of the market continues to be an AI story. Excluding those benefiting directly from the boom in AI investing, it has been a very average year-to-date in the stock market. For that matter, it has been a very average year-to-date in the economy as well. The AI boom attracts all of our attention. So far, the infrastructure buildout has consumed close to $50 billion, but AI related revenues are well short of $5 billion. That mismatch will change as quality applications emerge. But that will take time. Corporations appear to be taking longer to make investment decisions suggesting a bit of a mismatch between the hype and reality. Such mismatches usually need a correction to rebalance.
While market observers note a widening of breadth in the market this year, the disparities are striking. The NASDAQ is up over 11%, almost entirely due to the performance of Nvidia# and two other members of the Magnificent Seven, Meta Platforms# and Alphabet#. The Dow is up less than 3%. Within industries, we see similar …
May 30, 2024 – So far in 2024, the economic landscape has presented a picture of conflicting data and varying forecasts. While some indicators suggest a resilient economy with continued expansion, others point toward a potential slowdown or even a recession.
Robust consumer spending, driven by real personal income gains and sustained private and public investment, indicates a positive trajectory for economic growth. Forecasts from most economists predict steady growth near the long-run rate of roughly 2% for the United States in 2024, supported by policy tailwinds from fiscal and monetary authorities. However, contrasting perspectives highlight …
May 23, 2024 – Seafood restaurant chain Red Lobster filed for bankruptcy this week citing onerous rents, high labor costs and a money-losing “unlimited shrimp” promotion that resulted in a loss of $11 million in one quarter. In contrast, Toll Brothers is selling out its supply in the luxury home market while demand remains solid. Nvidia reported strong demand for its AI chips last night with margins marching higher. Many companies are seeking the right pricing formula to optimize demand and profitability, and have been rewarded for getting the formula correct.
Red Lobster is (was) the largest casual dining seafood chain in the United States, serving over 64 million customers per year. It also recently accounted for more than half of all casual dining seafood chain locations. Red Lobster had purchased 20% of all North American lobster tails and 16% of all rock lobsters sold worldwide. …
May 20, 2024 – Last week the Dow crossed 40,000 and the meme stocks went on a wild ride of speculation, hopefully a short one. Right now, the outlook appears rosy. Growth is good, inflation is coming down, and the Fed has promised that its next rate action will be a cut. The sky isn’t perfectly clear. High rates are squeezing housing and retail. Investor enthusiasm has robbed markets of any remaining real bargains. Candidates for President promise fiscal responsibility but their actions suggest more spending. While too much spending poses a real future threat, right now investors choose to focus on the positives. There is no immediate reason to sell, but high valuations suggest no need to chase either.
In a week when the Dow crossed the 40,000 barrier, a lot of attention turned not to the 30 giants that make up the Dow Industrials but to the so-called meme stocks, names like GameStop and AMC, whose most relevant investment characteristic was probably their elevated short positions. We’ve seen this act before during a …
May 16, 2024 – The S&P 500, Dow Jones Industrial Average, and NASDAQ Composite indices all set record highs yesterday following a softer than expected Consumer Price report. On an annualized basis, the Core CPI (ex-food and energy) is now tracking at 3.6% which is the lowest in three years. The weak inflation report caused interest rates to drop as investors are pricing in a better chance of a rate cut this summer, albeit still lower than a 50% likelihood. We know these odds change daily and next week’s data may surprise negatively. But this is what the market seems to be most focused on right now.
Yesterday’s retail sales report was also surprisingly weak. Sales were flat month over month as compared to an expectation of +0.4%, so this supports the notion that inflation can continue to soften. Of the 15 retail categories, more than half reported deceleration in sales growth. Finally, this morning’s initial unemployment claims and housing starts/building permits …
May 13, 2024 – Although stocks are surging again and are near all-time highs, all signs suggest the economy is slowing. We will get more hints from retailers as they report earnings over the next two weeks. How those reports balance out could impact the direction of the overall market over the next several weeks.
Last week was one of the best for equities. It came on the heels of comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell that any thought of an increase in interest rates was off the table. Judging from Fed Fund futures, there had been little expectation of any rate increase over the next several months, even …
May 9, 2024 – “Nobody goes there anymore because it’s too crowded.” ~Yogi Berra. Maybe now he would add that it is too expensive as well. As inflation has remained stubbornly high, a number of companies have noticed recently that consumers are becoming increasingly sensitive to rising prices. So far, the Federal Reserve has engineered a relatively soft landing for the economy, but we are on the lookout for signs of further softening ahead.
We decided to borrow and expand upon a few Yogi Berra quotes that seem more applicable now than ever. “Nobody goes there anymore because it’s too crowded.” Yogi Berra famously said that about a restaurant in St. Louis. Maybe now he would add that it is too expensive along with crowded. Many people are familiar …
May 6, 2024 – Earnings season is now essentially over. More than three-quarters of the companies that reported beat analyst estimates. Far fewer offered guidance that would allow companies to raise estimates. But while the general theme was a future of slower growth, few managements predicted recession and most felt they could manage around any slowdown.
The earnings announcements encouraged investors, stemmed the market correction, and left investors in a reasonably good mood. Results of the so-called Magnificent 7 generally met or exceeded expectations. One, Nvidia#, still has to report its earnings in May. These seven stocks are key because they account for roughly 30% of the value of the Standard …
May 2, 2024 – It was a real “nothing burger” from the FOMC meeting and press conference yesterday. Chairman Powell executed a perfect balancing act. He was not too hawkish nor too dovish. As expected, the Fed kept its policy rate unchanged, though it is slightly reducing the pace of balance sheet reductions to prevent liquidity concerns.
Though the market initially reacted positively to Powell’s statement that the next move would most likely be a cut rather than a hike, the gains were swiftly reversed by the end of yesterday’s trading session. The data will determine what’s next. So far, it appears that the path from today’s roughly 3% inflation to the …
April 29, 2024 – So far, earnings season hasn’t moved the needle for overall expectations although individual companies have often seen big reactions. Interest rates have risen spooked by yet more data suggesting that getting inflation to 2% is going to be difficult. Looking ahead, markets appear headed for a range-bound period.
Stocks rallied Friday on the backs of favorable earnings reports from Microsoft# and Alphabet#. The NASDAQ materially outperformed the rest of the market. While both Microsoft and Alphabet are software companies, the tech heroes last week were the semiconductor producers. In a world now fixated on next generation AI applications, the platforms that will be …
December 8, 2023 – Markets rallied yesterday but remained in tepid anticipation of today’s employment report and next week’s CPI report. The November employment report came in close to expectations with gains of 199,000. Not sure from the early read how much those numbers were enhanced by the end of the auto and Hollywood strikes. Markets reacted negatively to the report as month-over-month wages increased slightly more than anticipated. The unemployment rate fell to 3.7% as the labor participation rate rose to a pre-pandemic high.
Stocks rallied yesterday while bonds stayed mostly level in front of next week’s Federal Reserve meeting. For a change, the leaders were the big tech stocks, noticeable laggards over the last four weeks during a period where investors moved toward equities perceived as being cheaper than the high multiple Magnificent Seven. The pop in the …
September 18, 2023 – Markets are directionless, torn between better economic activity and an increase in storm clouds from labor unrest to China. What is crucial is the future trend for interest rates. Investors will parse this week’s FOMC meeting for clues, but probably won’t get a much clearer picture for their efforts.
Stocks have been trading sideways in a directionless pattern for the past month. On the plus side, earnings have exceeded forecasts and the economy continues to grow at a rate faster than economists had predicted. But that has been countered by a series of concerns: 1. Interest rates, particularly at the long end of the …
June 12, 2023- : The S&P 500 traded into Bull market territory last week on the back of a broad market rally. The broadening of the rally is key to continued optimism in the market. However, the possibility of a recession still looms, despite the rally.
Are we in a new Bull market? Last week the S&P 500 rallied to its highest level this year which put the index 20% above its October lows. On a year-to-date basis the index is up 12% led by mega-cap technology stocks. However, as we mentioned many times before, not all stocks and sectors have …
May 12, 2023 – While mega caps keep gaining steam, the average stock is now down for the year. Eight of the last nine trading sessions have been negative for the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The Fed may be done raising rates, but an all-clear signal is far off in the distance. Transitions are hard!
April’s consumer inflation report was well received, with a continuation of a gradual slowing for inflation. Ditto for the Producer Price Index yesterday morning. Our infamous “Fed whisperer”, Nick Timiraos, helped fuel a minor rally in growth stocks when his latest Wall Street Journal missive noted “Federal Reserve officials were already leaning toward taking a …
April 26, 2023 – Markets are being buffeted by crosscurrents. The banking crisis has come back into focus amid turmoil at First Republic. Earnings reports move individual stocks both ways. Bond market strength portends a weakening economy and slower inflation. Yet pockets of economic strength endure, mostly in the travel and leisure sectors. The net for equity investors is a standoff, one likely to endure for some time amid persistent rotation of leadership.
It was a wild day yesterday with several strong moves relative to earnings, a wild ride for First Republic Bank, the regional bank most people see as the stress point within the banking system, and a sharp rally in bonds. The major averages were all lower. After the close, solid earnings from Microsoft# reduced some …
October 26, 2022- Stocks have now risen sharply for three straight sessions as both the value of the dollar and the yield on 10-year Treasuries retreated. But disappointing earnings last night from a trio of tech names may spoil the party this morning. Or at least give it some reason to pause. The poor numbers from tech land remind us to look forward, not back. The great opportunities that technology created over the last quarter century are now maturing. The good news is that new opportunities will appear. They always do in a capitalistic entrepreneurial society.
Stocks rose sharply for the third straight session. It’s earnings season. Through yesterday, the results were basically in line with lowered expectations, but perhaps the biggest driver of higher stock prices was the reversals over the past several days in the value of the dollar and the yield on 10-year Treasuries. Within a bear market …
October 12, 2022- As we enter earnings season, attention will shift from interest rate fears to corporate performance. Pepsi kicked it off this morning with good results, hopefully an encouraging sign. As always, the story for the season will revolve around expectations versus reality. In July, reality beat expectations sparking the best rally of the year. The key will be the relative performance of the large tech names, notable laggards coming into earning season.
Stocks ended mixed yesterday in a very volatile session where the Dow Industrial Average moved back and forth by more than 1000 points. News was rather sparse. A brief afternoon plunge occurred after the Bank of England signaled it would halt its planned intervention to support the pound Friday as originally planned. Stock, bond, and …
October 5, 2022 – Two huge up days in a row put bulls back in charge. Is this the market bottom? Only time will tell. It will largely depend on the severity of the pending economic downturn. But retreating interest rates, and weaking labor market statistics suggest the end to the Fed’s cycle of higher interest rates is nearing an end. That is at least one key ingredient to the end of a market downturn.
For those of you who have read my letters over the years, you should know about my 2-day rule. It states that two consecutive days of outsized moves in the opposite direction of recent market trends marks a reversal. Certainly, the gains Monday and yesterday qualify as strong up sessions in sharp contrast to the …
August 26, 2022 – Markets continued to consolidate the ~20% spike off June’s low with minor rebounds the past few days. In anticipation of Chairman Powell’s long-awaited speech at Jackson Hole today, stocks are priced for a somewhat hawkish update. Anything that deviates from that position could release energy in either direction. Other news items require some attention as well that could affect GDP going forward.
Stocks staged a late day rally to help bring all 11 S&P sectors to a positive close yesterday. Gains were led by Basic Materials, Technology, and Communication stocks. The risk-on tone had defensive sectors lag the overall market with Utilities, Consumer Staples and Health Care stocks fractionally higher. Rallies continue to follow the Treasury market. …
June 13, 2022 – Friday’s report on Consumer Prices told us all that the fight against inflation will be harder than previously anticipated. This week, the Fed will increase interest rates again. It may suggest the ultimate Fed Funds rate this cycle will need to be higher than previously thought. None of this is good news for equity investors.
Friday’s CPI report didn’t make investors happy. Led by sharply higher energy expenses, and the fastest growing shelter costs in decades, the message loud and clear was that inflation shows no signs yet of abating. Recognizing that government steps to curb inflation only began in March, the numbers we are seeing now weren’t impacted one …
May 25, 2022 – While the Dow tries to find its footing, the NASDAQ continues in steep decline as one former darling after another faces reality. It’s an ugly picture and it isn’t over for the speculative end of the market. for those looking for safer havens, more dependent on predictable cash flow growth, the picture is far better. The contrast between the two worlds was most evident yesterday.
Stocks fell once again although a sharp afternoon rally reduced the damage. Still, the NASDAQ fell another 2.4% after a prominent social media company lowered earnings guidance just a month after it previously offered a somber outlook. As a group, social media and related companies depend on advertising for revenue. With the economy slowing and …
May 2, 2022- When leadership gets taken out to the woodshed, the whole market dies. That is what happened last week. While some escaped (e.g., Microsoft) the loud and clear message is that the big boys of the S&P 500 are now at or near economic maturity. That isn’t a message a market already worried about interest rates and recession wanted to hear.
Stocks sank on Friday to close out one of the most miserable months for equities in many years. The NASDAQ took it on the chin the worst after Amazon# reported a weaker than expected outlook for its retail business when it reported results Thursday night. On Friday, Amazon# suffered its worst percentage loss since the …
March 25, 2022 – Investors continue to grapple with inflation, war news, Fed tightening and valuations. Historians will point to stocks not topping until earnings peak, inversion occurs and/or better alternatives. We got some answers over the past few weeks but cloudiness prevails, for now.
A few weeks ago, there were almost no positives to think of. Most investment advisors were bearish. Cash was sitting on the sidelines earning nothing. Short sellers were pressed. Russian invasion continued to look worse by the hour. Oil, wheat, natural gas and many other commodities spiked higher even after doubling since Covid. The most …
March 21, 2022- The Fed did what it said it would do, economic growth remains intact, and the war isn’t getting worse by leaps and bounds. That set the table for a strong rally in stocks. Is the bottom in? Or is this just a bounce? The answer may be a little yes and a little no. For some stocks, the bounce might be over, but if the economy stays solid, there remain plenty of opportunities.
Stocks rose sharply all week as the NASDAQ rebounded out of bear market territory and both the Dow and S&P 500 cut their 2022 losses roughly in half. Oil prices remained volatile closing at over $100 per barrel. Pain at the pump continues but it isn’t getting worse, at least for now. Interest rates rose …
March 7, 2022 – While the war outcome continues down a path leading to a Russian occupation of Ukraine, the economic costs are becoming both starker and more apparent. Gasoline prices are rising close to $0.50 per week. If anything, the pace is accelerating. Wheat, aluminum, copper and palladium are spiking as well. These root commodity price increases will flow into a massive array of products. Inflation is quickly becoming more supply constrained than demand driven. The Fed’s weaponry can’t increase supply.
Stocks fell last week for the fourth week in a row, a combination of inflation fears and the war in Ukraine. Bond yields fell amid a flight to safety. The news from Ukraine is discouraging, to say the least, but it isn’t unexpected. Russia has overwhelming military advantages and continues to make progress in its …
January 10, 2022 – If there was a message last week, it was that speculative fever is dissipating as the Fed winds down its pace of bond purchases. No one knows when the purging of speculation will end but it probably will be with a thud, not a whimper. Market rotation to financials, industrials and energy names suggests the economy continues to thrive despite Omicron. The rotation can go a bit farther. The high growth sector got very overpriced, outpacing cyclical and value stocks for years, and it could take several more months for the rotation to run its course, allowing for some intermittent bounces and reversals. The overall market is down only modestly as the speculative fringes blow apart.
It was a tough week for stocks particularly on the NASDAQ. The speculative end of the market took the biggest hit as bond yields rose in line with continued economic growth. I noted last week the relevance of the January barometer. While not always valid, there is a trend that says, “as goes January, so …
October 11, 2021 – Markets remain volatile as growth slows, interest rates rise, and Washington politics remain a mess. Until supply chain problems are resolved the picture is unlikely to change. Demand is strong but much of it is unfilled. Perhaps it is time for Washington to take notice.
Stocks gave up some ground on Friday but still finished the week with decent gains. Trading remained volatile. Leadership rotated between growth and value stocks several times depending on the economic news of the day and trends in interest rates. The week ended with 10-year Treasury yields crossing the 1.60% barrier for the first time …
October 4, 2021 – A tough September is not a harbinger of what’s to come. The Delta variant is fading, and interest rates are not likely to rise as fast as they did in September. Inflation concerns remain. However, that should mute future upside. Higher earnings, on the other hand, will mute the downside.
Stocks rallied at the end of a dismal September. While growth in September deteriorated a bit thanks to the persistence of the Delta variant of Covid-19, stocks fell due to a combination of issues, a slowdown in growth being just one. Interest rates rose, the Fed hinted at tapering bond purchases before year end, and …
October 1, 2021 – Concerns, they are aplenty. Markets ended September on a sour note, as major averages tested last week’s spike lows. The key to the next 5% move revolves around equities holding near current support levels. Near-term headwinds are compounding, pointing to more downside risk. Rest assured, this bull market is not over yet.
Another quarter is in the books as we enter October which historically has been a favorable seasonal time to be invested. This is especially true in years where stock market returns are already generous. History says we should expect a solid finish for 2021. Even after a nearly 5% drop across the board in September, …
June 18, 2021-Fed announcements usually take a few days before the market figures out what they really said. This time is no different as rates initially spiked but made a 180 degree turn yesterday. Winners and losers in the stock market also flip-flopped. What to do now?
Market participants, in both stocks and bonds, waited with bated breath for the conclusion to the 2-day Federal Reserve Meeting. After two straight months of worrisome inflationary data, lower than expected employment reports and a continued rise in consumer spending, many were frightened at the prospect of the Federal Reserve changing their stance and pulling …
May 21, 2021 – After a 3-week hiatus, buyers came rushing back to the markets. Technology stocks rebounded the most, coinciding with a slight reversal in interest rates. Taper talk is coming, and we examine what that means for markets from here.
After three straight days of losses in the overall market, bargain hunters stepped up to the plate yesterday with technology stocks leading the charge higher. The Nasdaq bounced back 1.8%, pointing towards hope of at least a short-term bottom after another mini-correction. The Dow closed up 0.5% and the Russell 2000 Small Cap Index gained …