Laboring

December 6, 2021

  Continued concerns from the potential impact of the omicron variant, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s comments that the Fed may need to accelerate the tapering of bond purchases, and a lackluster employment report drove a decline across equity markets. The S&P 500 Index finished the week -1.2%, the Dow was -0.8% and the NASDAQ …

Reservations

November 29, 2021

  The equity markets declined during the holiday shortened week. The steep decline came on Friday following concerns that travel restrictions from the latest COVID variant could negatively impact global growth. The S&P 500 Index finished the week -2.2%, the Dow was -2.0% and the NASDAQ was -3.3%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield decreased …

Checking Sentiment

November 15, 2021

  Following a five-week rally, the S&P 500 Index took a pause last week. The S&P 500 finished the week -0.3%, the Dow was -0.6% and the NASDAQ was -1.0%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield increased to 1.570% at Friday’s close versus 1.455% the previous week. Current forecast for the S&P 500 Index is …

Fed Game Plan

November 8, 2021

  Confirmation from the Federal Reserve that the economy has reached a level improvement that allows a reduction in COVID-era policy accommodation rallied the S&P 500 Index to all-time highs last week. The S&P 500 finished the week +2.0%, the Dow was +1.4% and the NASDAQ was +3.2%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield decreased …

‘Tis the Season

November 1, 2021

  All four weeks in October were positive in the equity markets. This past week, the S&P 500 was +1.3%, the Dow was +0.4% and the NASDAQ was +3.2%. Oil snapped its multi-week rally, finishing down 0.2%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield decreased to 1.554% at Friday’s close versus 1.653% the previous week. Current …

Stocktober

October 25, 2021

  Corporate earnings led the market again last week. Of the 117 companies in the S&P 500 Index that have reported earnings for the quarter, 83.8% have reported earnings above consensus estimates. The S&P 500 was +1.7%, the Dow was +1.1% and the NASDAQ was +1.4%. Oil continued its multi-week rally, +1.8%. The U.S. 10-year …

Rallying Back

October 18, 2021

  A good set of corporate earnings reports and economic data rallied the equity markets in the second half of the week. The S&P 500 was +1.8%, the Dow was +1.6% and the NASDAQ was +2.2%. Oil continued its multi-week rally, +3.7%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield decreased to 1.574% at Friday’s close versus …

Good Enough to Taper

October 11, 2021

  The announcement of an agreement to temporarily increase the U.S. debt ceiling helped markets recover toward week’s end, then a lackluster employment report pushed markets down on Friday. The S&P 500 was +0.8%, the Dow was +1.3% and the NASDAQ was +0.2%. Oil was again the winner for the week, closing +4.6%. The U.S. …

Government Wrangling

October 4, 2021

  Anxiety in Washington over the debt ceiling and spending bills sent the equity markets lower last week. The U.S. government looks to avert a shutdown as a continuing resolution was passed to fund the government through December 3rd. Meanwhile the wrangling continues over the debt ceiling, infrastructure, and budget bills. The S&P 500 was …

Ports in a Storm

September 27, 2021

  Equity markets dropped last Monday on China credit concerns, then rallied back with help of a steady hand from the Federal Reserve at the FOMC meeting midweek. The S&P 500 was +0.5%, the Dow was +0.6%, and the NASDAQ was flat. Oil continued its recent climb. The U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield increased to …

Equinox

September 20, 2021

  The equity markets continued their slow downward move last week. The S&P 500 Index closed the week –0.5%, the NASDAQ –0.7% and the Dow was flat. Small capitalization stocks and oil bucked the trend. The U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield increased to 1.363% at Friday’s close versus 1.343% the previous week. Nine companies in …

Slow Leak

September 13, 2021

  The equity markets had a slow leak over the short, four-day trading week last week. The S&P 500 Index closed the week –1.7%, the NASDAQ –1.4% and the Dow –2.1%. The U.S. 10-year Treasury bond yield increased to 1.343% at Friday’s close versus 1.326% the previous week. With second quarter earnings reporting complete, the …

Laboring

September 7, 2021

  A well below forecast employment report may allow the Federal Reserve to be judicious when it decides to start tapering monthly bond purchases. The August employment report showed an increase of only 235,000 net new jobs versus expectations of 725,000 to 750,000 jobs. The S&P 500 Index closed the week +0.6%, the NASDAQ +1.4% …

Calming Effects

August 30, 2021

  The greatly anticipated speech from Fed Chair Jerome Powell at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium on Friday appeared to have a calming and positive impact on markets. He reiterated the comments of several Fed officials who said that economic conditions have improved, and the Fed can begin tapering its monthly bond purchases some time …

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 …