Weekly Market Commentary

Weekly Market Commentary December 02, 2024 The Markets Not one, but two! United States stock markets are serving another cup of cheer this year. The Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 Index returned more than more than 24 percent in 2023. This year, it was up 26.5 percent through the end of November. It’s possible 2024 will end up in Wall Street’s bull market hall of fame, wrote Jan-Patrick Barne...

Weekly Market Commentary November 25, 2024 The Markets The post-election rally resumed. Investors shook off concerns about interest rates and inflation, and U.S. stocks climbed higher last week. The Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 Index gained every day last week, and the rally wasn’t limited to a few popular stocks: 425 of the companies in the Index finished the week higher, according to Jaco...

The Markets The United States stock market changed course. Last week, the strength of the United States economy slowed investors’ roll. Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell told business leaders in Dallas, Texas, that the performance of the United States economy has been “remarkably good,” better than any major economy in the world, which gives the Fed “the ability to approach our decisions c...

Weekly Market Commentary November 11, 2024 The Markets Stock markets celebrated the results of the presidential election. Bond markets were less enthusiastic. Last week, United States stock markets rallied, and the U.S. dollar gained against other currencies, following the presidential election. The CBOE Volatility Index, Wall Street’s Fear gauge, also moved lower after concerns about a long wait...

Weekly Market Commentary November 04, 2024 The Markets Are we witnessing an historic event? For an airplane or a spacecraft, a soft landing occurs when the vehicle “touches the ground in a controlled and gradual way that does not damage it,” according to The Britannica Dictionary. For the American economy, a soft landing happens when the Federal Reserve raises interest rates to cool the economy an...

Financial markets appear to have pre-election jitters. The United States election is less than two weeks away. The candidates are neck and neck. The outcome remains uncertain. And expectations for volatility have been rising, with the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) finishing last week at 20.33. “When the VIX goes north of 20, Wall Street pays attention because that level signals heightened volatility...

Weekly Market Commentary October 21, 2024 The Markets Happy birthday! The bull market in stocks charged past its two-year birthday on October 12. “This unique bull market is still young relative to history and, for now, supported by relatively healthy breadth and broadening participation,” wrote Liz Ann Sonders and Kevin Gordon of Schwab. One factor in the U.S. stock market’s rise has been the Ame...

Weekly Market Commentary October 07, 2024 The Markets Living the realities of risk and reward. Asset allocation is important because it helps investors manage the risk and rewards of investing. In general, investments have different levels of risk and the potential return (or reward) for taking that level of risk is a higher return. For example, investing in stocks typically has greater risk than...

Weekly Market Commentary September 30, 2024 The Markets The Standard & Poor’s (S&P) 500 Index hit a new all-time high last week. The S&P 500 has had quite a year. Despite a sharp downturn in August when investor confidence was ruffled by concerns about economic growth, the Index was up about 20 percent, year-to-date, at the end of last week. The gains were widespread with all sectors o...

Weekly Market Commentary September 23, 2024 The Markets Rates moved lower and stocks moved higher. In 2022, the United States Federal Reserve (Fed) began raising interest rates as it battled high rates of inflation. That year prices rose 8 percent, as measured by the Consumer Price Index. In 2023, prices increased more slowly (4.1 percent), but still advanced at a pace that was well above the Fed’...