Weekly Rebound

January 25, 2021

  The stock market rebounded last week. For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was +0.6%,  the S&P 500 Index was +2.0%, and the NASDAQ 100 Index was +4.4%. The flurry of fourth quarter earnings reports continue this week with 120 companies in the S&P 500 Index scheduled to report earnings. Of the 66 …

Report Cards

January 19, 2021

  The stock market posted its first down week of 2021. For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.3%,  the S&P 500 Index declined 0.7%, and the NASDAQ 100 Index declined 1.6%. Small cap stocks and oil both posted gains for the week. We start to move deeper into fourth quarter earnings reports …

Strong Start

January 11, 2021

  The stock market shrugged off a down first trading day of the year and finished the first week of 2021 with gains. For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was +1.7%,  the S&P 500 Index was +1.9%, and the NASDAQ 100 Index was +1.7%. Oil also continued its year-end rally and opened 2021 …

Best Foot Forward

January 4, 2021

  The world bid farewell to the disruptive year of 2020 and an optimistic hello to 2021. All the uncertainty hasn’t disappeared simply because of the calendar transition, but there is a sense of optimism that 2021 will be a year of positive improvement in the economy, social and family interaction, and healthcare regarding COVID. …

We Made It!

December 28, 2020

  President Trump signed the stimulus and omnibus bill on Sunday. This funds the government through September 30th and provides multiple stimulus measures outlined below in our Dissecting Headlines section. For the week, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was +0.1%,  the S&P 500 Index was –0.1%, and the NASDAQ 100 Index was –0.2%. Initial unemployment …

Christmas Stimulus

December 21, 2020

  The initial rollout of an approved coronavirus vaccine helped boost markets last week, though a failure to reach an agreement on a stimulus plan by week’s end closed the week on a down note. The stimulus plan appears to have been resolved during weekend negotiations and a vote is set for as early as …

Injections

December 14, 2020

  The previous week’s stimulus talks seem to have stalled as the week went on. This, coupled with an uptick in Initial Jobless Claims and COVID cases, pushed the equity market down from record highs. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was –0.5%, the S&P 500 Index was –0.9%, and the NASDAQ 100 Index was –1.2%. …

Currency

December 7, 2020

  Fresh talk of a potential stimulus bill carried the equity markets into record territory at week’s end. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was +1.2%, the S&P 500 Index was +1.7%, and the NASDAQ 100 Index was +2.2%. The November employment report showed 245,000 new jobs created versus 610,000 in October. The deceleration in job …

‘Tis the Season

November 30, 2020

  The Thanksgiving week mood in the market was generally positive. The Dow Jones Average was +2.2%, the S&P 500 Index was +2.3%, and the NASDAQ 100 Index was +3.0%. As we head into the last month of 2020, investors are likely to continue the focus on the optimism of COVID-19 vaccine distribution and their …

Comfort Food

November 23, 2020

  Stocks backed-off all-time highs last week as renewed concerns of increasing COVID case loads and restrictions in high-risk states pulled against investor optimism of vaccines on the way. The Dow Jones Average and S&P 500 Index declined 0.7% and the NASDAQ 100 Index declined 0.2%. With 474 of 500 companies in the S&P 500 …