Last week we touched on the fact that market internals have been deteriorating over the past six weeks. Eventually, broad-based relative weakness in small caps, mid caps and other sectors of the S&P 500 pulled the large market cap-weighted indices (SPY, DIA, QQQ) down nearly 4% over the span of four days. This concluded with… Read the full article.
We have been watching the broad U.S. stock market’s internal technical condition over the past few weeks and have pointed out the divergence between market cap-weighted indices (that investors often reference) and everything else. Simply put, U.S. equities have been flashing warning signs for the past month. Leadership is confined to a few sectors and… Read the full article.
Major U.S. stock indices kicked off the week in positive territory and are at all-time highs. While these are at the forefront of what most people view as the “stock market,” they are market cap-weighted indices and only reflect the performance of a small sample of large companies. It is because of this that I… Read the full article.
I hope everyone had a great holiday weekend and is enjoying the short week. I love the 4th of July for several reasons, but at the top of my list is that I always get to be with all my kids at once – under one roof and on one boat! I say this all… Read the full article.
A realistic and stated inflation outlook provided by the Federal Reserve, paired with signs of bipartisan cooperation in reaching an infrastructure package, has stabilized equity markets after the sell off we saw just over a week ago. We are again at all-time highs and the volatility index (VIX) has fallen back below 20 at lows… Read the full article.
This past week we have seen U.S. equity markets edge up to new highs. The stock market’s performance has continued to impress us since March. In our view, this performance can be attributed to continued positive earnings, upbeat expectations for growth over the next 18 months and a pullback in interest rates following the historic… Read the full article.
I hope everyone’s week is off to a great start. With our CEO Chadd Mason on vacation this week, we wanted to provide a brief mid-week update on the markets and economy. The first three trading days of this week show the S&P 500 once again facing strong resistance at its all-time high. Additionally, the… Read the full article.
I’ll start by apologizing for the tardy commentary as a result of the holiday week. I hope everyone had a nice short week after a happy Memorial Day weekend spent with friends and family. I also hope some time was spent reflecting and honoring those who have made the ultimate sacrifice so that we can… Read the full article.
Relatively tame inflation data, a pullback in commodities, and continued dovish comments out of the Federal Reserve have all led to a growing feeling among investors that the big jump in inflation may be transitory after all. We have watched the bond market closely for the past two months to see if another leg up… Read the full article.
Volatility was the word of the week as we saw broad-based selling for three consecutive days to start last week. The Nasdaq led the drop, although all the major equity indices were down in the neighborhood of 4%. Fears of inflation, coupled with a terrible jobs report from the previous week, made for some serious… Read the full article.
Earnings season is wrapping up and more than 80% of all companies beat estimates. Aggregated earnings are projected to grow at an annual rate of 7% according to FactSet. This is not the double-digit growth we were seeing two years ago but is impressive nonetheless given all that has occurred in the past year. The… Read the full article.
U.S. equity markets finished the month of April with stellar performance. April gains were on the back a rally that began in early March after some choppy and sideways trading at the start of the year. The benchmark S&P 500 (SPY) finished up more than 11% year-to-date. Earnings continue to roll in and support the… Read the full article.
All major U.S. indices ended last week in the red, albeit only slightly. It was the first down week in the past three, and April overall has been strongly positive across the board. News of President Biden’s tax plan was the likely culprit for last week’s minor pullback. Markets sold off hard on the news… Read the full article.
Over the past week, equity markets moved higher, and interest rates continued to moderate. First quarter earnings will now be a large focus for investors in the next days and weeks. Banks kicked things off last Wednesday and reported big numbers. Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase and Wells Fargo all beat estimates. As mentioned previously, FactSet is… Read the full article.
Equity markets continue to push through to all-time highs. The S&P 500 is now right at +10% year-to-date. Cyclical sectors, including energy, financials, industrials, and transportation, remain the leaders. By no means is the bull market limited to these areas, but these are the beneficiaries of a newly minted bull market. Demand side growth is… Read the full article.
Many, if not all, of us were surprised by the dramatic impact of COVID-19 on our everyday lives. The impact was felt across the social and economic spectrum and spurred some unprecedented governmental aid and spending. This aid came in the form of stimulus packages for individuals and small businesses that could amplify the country’s… Read the full article.
U.S. equity markets had a big week, perhaps in response to the prospect of a large infrastructure package out of Washington D.C., coupled with job growth and blowout consumer confidence numbers. The S&P 500 was up more than 2% last week and was up big again today. The economy appears to be on the brink… Read the full article.
Worldwide equity markets remain volatile, with moves up or down more than 1% occurring regularly. Everything is still tied to interest rates. Investors saw some expected moderation in rising rates last week, but this morning we hit a new high in the 10-year Treasury bond. The yield is currently at 1.75% and a test of… Read the full article.
We spent much of last week reviewing the ongoing rise in interest rates, with a particular focus on how it may impact other asset classes. Our weekly commentary also suggested some possibilities on the continued advance going forward. On Friday, we conducted our monthly webinar for our advisor partners and provided data that set out… Read the full article.
It is always something. Right now, that something is the precipitous rise in interest rates. The all-important 10-year Treasury bond has now broken above resistance at the 1.5% to 1.6% level and appears to be holding the breakout. As we have discussed many times over the past weeks and months, we believe the big jump… Read the full article.