Positive quarterly earnings reports and progress on stimulus talks helped the equity market rebound to start February on a positive note. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was +3.6%, the S&P 500 Index was +4.3%, and the NASDAQ 100 Index was +4.9%. We’re just past halfway in the fourth quarter earnings cycle and S&P 500 …
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 …
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 …
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 …
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%. …
Link to the Risk Tolerance Questionnaire Here The investment markets have been volatile the past few weeks. With events like the COVID-19 outbreak, it can be difficult to know when they can happen or what impact they can have on the stock market and your investment portfolio. One thing you can do to be …
Despite concerns over impact of the coronavirus, the equity markets staged a recovery back toward record levels last week. We believe the significant story here is corporate earnings. With 387 companies in the S&P 500 Index having reported fourth quarter 2019 earnings, 72% have exceeded expectations, 10% have been in-line and 19% have been …
Stocks remain at record levels on optimism for a partial trade truce. As we head into the final leg of corporate earnings season, we anticipate that macroeconomic and geopolitical headlines should continue to dominate market direction day-to-day. Earnings have shown a more positive picture than was expected in late September. Of the 461 companies …
On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will make a decision on its interest rate target. The current market probabilities are for a reduction of 0.25% which would bring the target range for the Fed Funds Rate to 2.00% to 2.25%. We can attribute most of the stock market tailwind over the past …
The major market averages posted a second consecutive positive weekly return. With the lull between corporate earnings season, most movement came from macroeconomic data, politics, and some company commentary at investor conferences. Investors will have two big events to focus on for the balance of the month with the Federal Reserve meeting on June …
Continue reading “Will Key Meetings Satisfy Investor Expectations?”
Despite increased tensions with Iran and the start of the summer driving season, crude oil had its steepest decline since the late December lows, down 6.6% for the week. The equity markets also extended their recent decline with most averages adding to multi-week declines. As a follow-up to last week’s comments on the American …
A breakdown in US – China trade talks and some saber rattling with Iran dominated headlines this past week. Investors appear to be growing weary of the headline noise, especially with China. The thought that a conclusion to China trade is no longer a “done deal” is inserting some pessimism into investors’ psyche. This …
NovaPoint Capital has been awarded a PSN Top Guns distinction by Informa Financial Intelligence’s PSN manager database, North America’s longest running database of investment managers. NovaPoint was honored with the Bull Bear Master designation for its Large Cap Dividend Growth Strategy for the three-year period ending March 31, 2019. “We are very pleased to have …
U.S.-China Trade dominated the headlines last week. As trade talks stalled, the U.S. increased the previously announced tariffs on Chinese goods from 10% to 25%. The U.S. is also investigating options for tariffs on an additional $300 billion of Chinese-made goods not currently under tariffs. The Chinese Vice Premier spent last week in the …
The Federal Reserve’s Federal Open Market Committee (“FOMC”) held short-term interest rates steady this week. As mentioned in last week’s Commentary, the Fed’s mandate is to promote maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates. The Fed’s current inflation target is 2% and inflation is currently below that level. This past Friday’s Employment …
The advance report on First Quarter U.S. Gross Domestic Product (“GDP”) was reported at +3.2%. This was an upside surprise to the 2% widely anticipated by most economists. Part of the surprise was in net trade (exports versus imports) which was refreshing to see given the concern over the U.S.—China trade standoff. Personal consumption …
Earnings reports have been a positive surprise so far. For the S&P 500, 77 out of 500 companies have reported with 78% beating expectations, 5% matching and 17% below expectations. The 48 company earnings reports from the past week have raised the combined (reported and estimated) earnings growth for the quarter from -2.3% to …
The 2.9% move in the S&P 500 Index this past week erased the previous week’s 2.0% decline. The market shrugged off global economic worries and posted its best single week since last November. The U.S.-China trade meter shifted back to optimism this week. Oil continued its advance as well. WTI Crude was +4.4% for the …
Continue reading “Upbeat Week Heading into Next Fed Meeting”
The S&P 500 Index advanced 0.4% last week, its fifth consecutive weekly increase. Crude oil fell 2.5% for the week. As we near the end of the quarterly earnings season, much of the fundamental news from reporting companies is out and speculation on how current macro and industry data may impact earnings for first quarter …
Continue reading “Wrapping up Earnings and Focusing on Economic Data”
A deal was struck to avoid a resumption of the partial U.S. government shutdown last week. Macroeconomic Crisis One averted, even though there may be political ramifications of the President’s decision to push ahead with funding the wall for the U.S. southern border through emergency measures. We’re much more concerned about economics, business, and investing, …
A Dissipating “Axis of Worry” Many of the concerns that caused the steep drop in the stock market in the fourth quarter of 2018 have started to dissipate. The combination of rising interest rates, a trade dispute between the U.S. and China, lower oil prices, and the U.S. government shutdown all rolled into what we …
Individuals we speak with often classify their investment risk tolerance with adjectives such as “Conservative”, “Moderate”, or “Aggressive”. These self-classifications can be highly subjective and may not correctly capture the amount of risk someone is actually comfortable taking. One Moderate investor may feel uncomfortable if their portfolio fell 5% while another may not feel uncomfortable …
Continue reading “Are You Taking the Right Amount of Investment Risk?”
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