Positives and Negatives

October 5, 2020

  All major U.S. equity indices were positive for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was +1.9%, while the S&P 500 Index was +1.5% and the NASDAQ 100 Index was +1.0%. It was a dramatic headline week with the Presidential debate, September Employment Report, and the positive COVID tests for the President and First …

Debatable

September 28, 2020

  The NASDAQ increased 2.0% for the week to snap its three-week losing streak while the S&P 500 fell 0.6%. The S&P 500 Index has declined 5.8% since the beginning of September and the relatively higher technology weighted NASDAQ 100 Index has declined 7.9% over the same time frame. This Friday we get data from …

Fall

September 21, 2020

  Stocks posted their third consecutive down week. The downside was felt more in the technology and growth-oriented sectors of the market. The S&P 500 Index has declined 5.17% since the beginning of September and the relatively higher technology weighted NASDAQ 100 Index has declined 9.69% over the same time frame. At its recent meeting, …

Steady Feddy

September 14, 2020

  Stocks posted back-to-back down weeks despite reaching record highs near the start of September. The downside was felt more in the technology and growth-oriented sectors of the market. The S&P 500 Index has declined 4.55% since the beginning of September and the relatively higher technology weighted NASDAQ 100 Index ihas declined 8.45% over the …

Speed Bump

September 7, 2020

  After a long recovery back to record levels, the S&P 500 Index hit a speed bump last week, especially among some of the stocks in the information technology and other technology related sectors that had posted large gains since the market bottom in March. Thursday was the worst downside day of the week, down …

Labor Days

August 31, 2020

  The S&P 500 Index built on its recent record and closed above 3500 for the first time last week. Data indicating that COVID-19 is on the downslope, a supportive Federal Reserve, and a view that the recent second quarter corporate earnings are a likely trough for this cycle all contributed to the optimism. We …

Comeback Story

August 24, 2020

  It was a record week as the S&P 500 Index completed its comeback from the COVID-induced selloff in the Spring. On Tuesday,  the S&P 500 closed at 3,389 which exceeded the previous high set back on February 19th and ended the week at 3,397. While the unknown social and economic impact of COVID-19 caused …

Unconventional

August 17, 2020

  It was a quieter week in the earnings reporting cycle with only 16 companies in the S&P 500 Index reporting earnings. The last big announcements come this week with some major retailers reporting earnings. With 457 companies in the S&P 500 having reported second quarter earnings to date, 81% have reported results above consensus. …

Looking Up

August 10, 2020

  Heading into the tail-end of the second quarter earnings season, 441 companies in the S&P 500 have reported earnings with 82% reporting results above consensus. This is better than the long-term average of 64.9%.  A fourth consecutive better than expected week has moved current consensus for second quarter S&P 500 earnings to down 31.7% …

Trough

August 3, 2020

  Second quarter Gross Domestic Product (GDP) for the U.S. saw a record contraction of 32.9% as the April through June time period was hit by the COVID induced business shutdowns and stay at home orders. While the large decline is sobering, it is also likely to be short-lived as economic data has been improving. …