Dog Days

August 23, 2021

  A geopolitical crisis in Afghanistan and hints from the Federal Reserve that it could soon begin tapering monthly bond purchases combined to lead the equity markets to a negative week. The S&P 500 Index closed the week –0.5%, the NASDAQ –0.3% and the Dow –1.0%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield decreased to 1.260% …

Letting off Steam

August 16, 2021

  While inflation sparked by the rapid economic rebound is still elevated, the recent Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index (PPI) reports may suggest the surge is losing some steam. We are not out of the woods yet, but the concern of runaway inflation may be overdone. The S&P 500 Index closed the …

Jawboning

August 9, 2021

  Equity markets advanced last week. There was a significant amount of jawboning regarding an end to the Fed’s monthly bond buying programs and 10-year Treasury bond yields increased following a strong July employment report. The S&P 500 Index closed the week +1.0%, the NASDAQ +1.0% and the Dow +0.8%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury bond …

Staring at the Ceiling

August 2, 2021

  Large cap equities closed lower last week. Despite a large increase in year-over-year earnings for most companies, growth concerns seeped in for some of the large cap tech companies. The S&P 500 Index closed the week –0.4%, the NASDAQ -1.0% and the Dow –0.4%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield decreased to 1.23% at …

Passing the Baton

July 26, 2021

  The market succumbed to COVID Delta variant fears last Monday, then snapped back to a record close by week’s end. All major averages closed higher for the week with the S&P 500 Index +2.0%, the NASDAQ +2.9% and the Dow +1.1%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield decreased to 1.28% at Friday’s close versus …

Stockathlon

July 19, 2021

  Despite good earnings from the major banks and some other companies in the first week of second quarter earnings reporting, the market averages struggled in the back half of the week. Continued presence of inflationary pressures and unknown potential impact of the COVID Delta variant led investor concerns. The S&P 500 Index closed the …

Employment Focus

July 6, 2021

  Equity markets closed higher for the week with the S&P 500 Index +1.7%, the NASDAQ +2.7% and the Dow +1.1%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield decreased to 1.431% at Friday’s close versus 1.524% the previous week. The June employment report was the major news story ahead of the Independence Day holiday weekend. The …

Half-Time

June 28, 2021

  Heading into the end of the first half of the year, all three major equity market averages have so far posted double-digit returns with the S&P 500 Index +14.8%, the NASDAQ +11.7% and the Dow +13.6%. The PCE Price Index for May was +0.4% month-over-month and 3.9% year-over-year. Energy prices were 27.4% higher year-over-year …

Dot Plot

June 21, 2021

  The Federal Reserve increased its outlook for U.S. economic growth but maintained its narrative that current inflationary pressures are likely to be transitory as the early part of the post-COVID economic recovery moderates to longer-term sustainable growth. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week –3.4% and the S&P 500 Index was –1.9%. The …

Tea Leaves

June 14, 2021

  Despite continued inflation pressures seen in the May Consumer Price Index (CPI) report, the markets rallied into week’s end. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week –0.8%%, but the S&P 500 Index was +0.4%, and the NASDAQ 100 Index was +1.7%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield decreased to 1.462% at Friday’s close …

Tip of the Taper

June 7, 2021

  The weaker than forecast employment report rallied stocks and bonds on Friday on the expectation it would keep the Fed on hold. This was despite the Fed’s announcement it would begin selling the excess corporate bonds and ETFs it purchased during the pandemic to stabilize markets. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week …

Mix and Mingle

June 1, 2021

  Investors appear to be absorbing the inflation story well as the equity markets all posted positive returns for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week +1.0%, the S&P 500 Index was +1.2%, and the NASDAQ 100 Index was +2.0%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield decreased to 1.593% at Friday’s close …

Hitting the Road

May 24, 2021

  It was a mixed week in the equity market with the NASDAQ 100 Index in the green and the S&P 500 Index and Dow Jones Industrial Average in the red. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week –0.4%, the S&P 500 Index was –0.4%, and the NASDAQ 100 Index was +0.2%. The U.S. …

Take a Breath

May 17, 2021

  The early part of the week saw stocks under pressure from inflation concerns. A rally on Thursday and Friday triggered by the easing of mask wearing guidelines by the Center for Disease Control recouped some of the losses. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week –1.1%, the S&P 500 Index was –1.3%, and …

Employment Debate Heats Up

May 10, 2021

  Bad news in the monthly employment report was good news for stocks on Friday. A much weaker employment report than anticipated was seen as a signal the economy is not as frothy as expected, causing equities to rally. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week +2.7%, the S&P 500 Index was +1.3%, and …

Are You Ready for the Summer?

May 3, 2021

  The quarterly earnings reporting season is past the half-way point. Of the 303 companies in the S&P 500 Index that have reported earnings to date for Q1, 87.1% have reported earnings above analyst estimates. This compares to a long-term average of 65.3% and prior four quarter average of 75.5%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average …

Over the Hump

April 26, 2021

  Despite generally positive corporate earnings reports, the equity markets were flattish last week on concerns surrounding proposals from the White House for higher capital gains taxes. Of the 123 companies in the S&P 500 Index that have reported earnings to date for Q1, 85.4% have reported earnings above analyst estimates. This compares to a …

Crude Math

April 19, 2021

  The equity markets responded positively to the first week of first quarter earnings. Of the 44 companies in the S&P 500 Index that have reported earnings to date for the first quarter, 84.1% have reported earnings above analyst estimates. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week +1.2%, the S&P 500 Index was +1.4% …

Earnings on Tap

April 12, 2021

  Over 20% of the U.S. population has been fully vaccinated for COVID-19. The economy has been looking up and the Federal Reserve is being patient with interest rates. Fed Chair Jerome Powell also expressed a positive view of the economy in an interview that was aired on Sunday, but also said it is highly …

Homestretch

December 2, 2019

  The S&P 500 Index closed November +3.6%, its best monthly performance since June. Investor confidence in a healthy consumer, low inflation, and optimism on U.S.—China trade talks continue to buoy stocks. With only a month left in 2019, there are a few remaining milestones to monitor as we move into the end of the …

Thankful

November 25, 2019

  Stocks retreated from record levels last week. The third quarter earnings season is near finished with 476 of 500 companies having reported earnings. The earnings reporting season has materialized better than first thought a few months ago. Earnings should finish with a mild year-over-year decline of less than 0.5% versus expectations of a 2.2% …

Tracking the Consumer

November 11, 2019

  Optimism on U.S.—China trade helped markets extend gains for the third straight week. Stocks are at record levels as the third quarter earnings season slows into its final weeks. Of the 446 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported 3Q earnings, 74% have exceeded expectations, 7% have met expectations and 19% have reported …

Goldilocks

November 4, 2019

  Lots of positives stacked up this past week with the Fed lowering short-term interest rates by 0.25%, a stronger than expected employment report, and continued progress on U.S. – China trade. These along with good third quarter earnings reports pushed the S&P 500 into record territory. The Federal Reserve lowered its short-term target rate …

Earnings Tricks and Fed Treats

October 28, 2019

  The corporate earnings season has so far been less negative than originally anticipated. Of the 199 companies that have reported 3Q earnings, 78% have exceeded expectations, 7% have met expectations, and 15% have reported below expectations. This has improved current earnings estimates for the quarter to a 2.0% decline in year/year earnings on 3.4% …

Stocktober

October 21, 2019

  The corporate earnings reporting season is underway. Earnings reports were generally upbeat last week and the S&P 500 Index responded with a positive return. Of the 73 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported third earnings, 84% have exceeded expectations, 4% have met expectations and 12% have reported below expectations. Current expectation is …

Tariff Reprieve

October 14, 2019

  The S&P 500 Index snapped a three-week decline on optimism the U.S. and China were making progress on the trade dispute. In an announcement on Friday, the U.S. agreed not to enact the scheduled October 15th tariff increases on $250 billion of goods in exchange for China agreeing to purchase more U.S. agricultural products. …

Parsing the Data

October 7, 2019

  The S&P 500 Index posted its third consecutive weekly decline. The decline wound up being smaller than the start of the week would have indicated, as the market rallied strongly on Thursday and Friday. The week started down when the September ISM Manufacturing Report showed contraction in the manufacturing sector. The Index level of …

Quarter End

September 30, 2019

  The equity market declined on Friday afternoon for the second consecutive week following a report that the U.S. was considering banning U.S. pensions from investing in Chinese stocks and potentially delisting Chinese stocks from U.S. exchanges. Friday’s lower finish left the S&P 500 Index down 1.0% for the week. The use of international fund …