Despite Friday’s strong relief rally, stocks still ended last week lower. The S&P 500 ended the week -2.4%, the Dow was -2.1%, and the NASDAQ was -2.4%. The 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield decreased to 2.928% at Friday’s close versus 3.142% the previous week. Both the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and Producer Price Index …
False Start
The equity market rally following the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy decision looked to be a false start after the market gave up the gain the following day and stocks closed lower for the week. The S&P 500 ended the week -0.2%, the Dow was -0.2%, and the NASDAQ was -1.2%. The 10-year U.S. Treasury …
In the Mix
Mixed earnings and anticipation of tighter monetary policy leading up to this week’s Federal Reserve meeting sent stocks down last week. The S&P 500 ended the week -3.3%, the Dow was -2.5%, and the NASDAQ was -3.8%. The 10-year U.S. Treasury note yield increased to 2.938% at Friday’s close versus 2.905% the previous week. …
Political Homestretch
Despite a slew of strong company earnings reports, concerns about an accelerating spread of COVID-19 in both the U.S. and abroad pushed stocks lower last week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 6.5%, the S&P 500 Index declined 5.6%, and the NASDAQ 100 Index declined 5.5%. The earnings reporting season is rolling on and …
Peak Week
The third quarter earnings reporting season peaks this week with 180 companies in the S&P 500 Index scheduled to report earnings. The current third quarter consensus is for earnings to be down 16.7% year-over-year (versus down 18.7% last week and down 21.7% at the start of earnings season) on a 3.6% decline in revenue. …
Looking Under the Hood
Global equity markets had a strong recovery rally last week as scenarios begin to firm up of when the COVID-19 peaks in various countries and the global economy begins to re-open. While the social and economic recovery is likely to last several months or longer, the financial markets tend to anticipate outcomes and a …
Waiting on Normal
The equity market gave back some of its recent gains last week, but volatility also decreased which we view as a welcome signal relative to the higher levels of volatility we’ve seen over the past few weeks. Uncertain timing on a return to normalcy in society and the economy is likely to weigh on …
Positive GDP Surprise
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 …
Wrapping up Earnings and Focusing on Economic Data
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 …
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