Quick Takes In a busy week of economic and corporate earnings reports the U.S. benchmark S&P 500 Index slipped -0.2%. Talk of tariffs weighed on investors at the beginning and ending of the week, as did unexpectedly high inflation expectations data and subpar tech...
Key Points COUNTER TRENDS Financial markets finished January broadly higher and saw some notable counter trend moves for the month. Technology stocks, one of the dominant 2024 leaders, was the only negative sector in January, and Health Care, a 2024 laggard, was the...
Quick Takes The major indexes missed closing positive for a third straight week as Chinese AI competition, a hawkish Fed statement and press conference, as well as a late Friday announcement of tariffs being placed on Canada, Mexico, and China sent stocks down. The...
Quick Takes The major indexes finished in positive territory for a second consecutive week. The S&P 500 Index finished the week up +1.7%, the best start to a presidential term since the Reagan administration in 1985. It’s gained +4.7% over the last two-week...
Quick Takes Stocks notched their best week since the November election, with the S&P 500 Index gaining +2.9%. All 11 sectors rose, the top three sectors – Energy, Financials, and Materials –were all up just better than +6% for the week. The primary catalyst for...
Quick Takes Stocks have given up their gains in the early stages of the new year after a stronger-than-expected employment report spooked investors and sent yields higher. The S&P 500 fell 1.9%, the Nasdaq was down 2.3%, and the Russell 2000 dropped 3.5%. Yields...
Key Points LARGE WAS IN CHARGE In 2024, U.S. large-cap stock funds averaged a +17.4% gain, topping all other broad categories. That significantly outpaced international-stock funds, which saw a much more modest +4.8% rise. Despite the impressive stock fund...
Quick Takes Stocks had a Scrooge-like performance during the “Santa Claus Rally,” which is the seven-day period that ended Friday. This year’s Santa rally disappointed with a -0.5% decline for the S&P 500 Index versus the historical average gain of +1.3%....
Quick Takes A fall in shares of big tech companies dragged U.S. stocks lower on Friday, but the major U.S. stock indices still held onto gains for the week. The S&P 500 closed the week with a +0.7% gain, the Nasdaq Composite was down -0.8%, and the Russell 2000...
Quick Takes Wall Street didn’t like the message Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell delivered on Wednesday and sent the S&P 500 Index down -2.0 for the week; the tech-heavy Nasdaq fell -1.8%, and the small cap Russell 2000 Index sank -4.5%. Fed policymakers...
