Earnings Buoy Markets

January 31, 2022

  Buoyed by several strong corporate earnings reports, the major U.S. equity indices all closed the week higher for the first time this year. The S&P 500 Index ended the week +0.8%, the Dow was +1.3%, and the NASDAQ was +0.1%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield increased to 1.778% at Friday’s close versus 1.771% …

Still Struggling

January 24, 2022

  The early year market retreat extended to a third week. The S&P 500 Index ended the week -3.9%, the Dow was -3.3%, and the NASDAQ was -4.9%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield decreased to 1.771% at Friday’s close versus 1.793% the previous week. Some of the downturn can be attributed to the high …

Keeping Resolutions

January 18, 2022

  January 17th is deemed Quit Day, or Ditch New Years’ Resolution Day, because it is typically the day most people have already left behind their resolutions. People typically do this because it is hard to maintain their discipline. While the first two weeks of January have been tough in the financial markets as well, …

Fast Forward

January 10, 2022

  The equity markets struggled the first week of the new year after the minutes from the December Federal Reserve meeting, which were released this past Wednesday, indicated the Fed could potentially accelerate its actions to slow bond buying, raise short-term rates, and shrink its balance sheet. The news sent equities down for the week …

Setting the Stage

January 3, 2022

  The U.S. equity markets closed out the year with a positive week. The S&P 500 Index was higher for the week by +0.9%, the Dow was +1.1%, and the NASDAQ was +0.1%. All three major U.S. indices closed the year with solid double-digit gains. Two particular asset class winners this year were oil and …

Last Hand of 21

December 27, 2021

  It was a mostly optimistic holiday week, although COVID-19 was still a background factor. The S&P 500 Index was higher for the week by +2.3%, the Dow was +1.7%, and the NASDAQ was +3.2%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield increased to 1.492% at Thursday’s close versus 1.407% the previous week. The COVID omicron …

Fed Up

December 20, 2021

  The Federal Reserve meeting provided a roadmap for 2022 monetary policy which we think was favorably received by the markets, however, concern surrounding the omicron variant returned following increases in positive testing across several countries. The net effect had the S&P 500 Index lower for the week by -1.9%, the Dow was -1.7% and …

Looking for Santa

December 13, 2021

  Concern surrounding the omicron variant subsided last week and it helped the equity markets bounce off support levels. The S&P 500 Index finished the week +3.8%, the Dow was +4.0% and the NASDAQ was +3.9%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield increased to 1.478% at Friday’s close versus 1.356% the previous week. The Federal …

Laboring

December 6, 2021

  Continued concerns from the potential impact of the omicron variant, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments that the Fed may need to accelerate the tapering of bond purchases, and a lackluster employment report drove a decline across equity markets. The S&P 500 Index finished the week -1.2%, the Dow was -0.8% and the NASDAQ …

Reservations

November 29, 2021

  The equity markets declined during the holiday shortened week. The steep decline came on Friday following concerns that travel restrictions from the latest COVID variant could negatively impact global growth. The S&P 500 Index finished the week -2.2%, the Dow was -2.0% and the NASDAQ was -3.3%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield decreased …