Market Blog
Index Weekly Performance:
S&P 500: -1.32%
Dow Jones Industrial Average: -1.93%
Nasdaq Composite: -0.18%
Equities
US equities moved lower on the week as volatility in the oil patch dominated headlines. Despite collapsing oil prices, the energy sector was the lone sector positive, underscoring how much pessimism was priced into a group already down more than 40% this year. Continue reading
DAILY INSIGHTS
Stocks opened higher. The S&P 500 opened higher this morning as markets remain fixed on the COVID-19 headlines, oil prices, and earnings season. President Trump will sign the $484 billion COVID-19 relief bill into law today. Oil prices are higher but remain below $20 per barrel, based on June settlement of the futures contract. Continue reading
Market Blog
With 20% of S&P 500 Index companies having reported first quarter results so far, earnings season has been a mixed bag. In our April 13 earnings preview, we noted that S&P 500 Index earnings for the quarter were expected to decline 10% year over year, based on FactSet’s consensus estimates from analysts. That number is minus 15% now, largely due to weaker-than-expected results for the financials sector so far. Continue reading
DAILY INSIGHTS
LPL Research on CNBC. LPL Financial Senior Market Strategist Ryan Detrick was on CNBC’s Power Lunch with Tyler Mathison Wednesday to discuss the drop in crude oil. You can watch the full video here. Continue reading
Market Blog
One month ago today the S&P 500 Index bottomed after a vicious bear market. Was this the ultimate bottom? We’ll have to wait and see, but what we do know is the rally we’ve seen over the past month is nearly as historic as the drop coming into it was. Continue reading
Economic Blog
With 22 million jobs lost in the past four weeks, a record drop in retail sales, and huge drops in industrial production and housing starts, it is safe to say we are likely in a recession. Even the Federal Reserve (Fed) in the recent Beige Book said that “economic activity contracted sharply and abruptly.” We highly doubt the Fed would say that if they didn’t believe the economy was in a recession. Continue reading
DAILY INSIGHTS
Stocks rebound from Tuesday’s sell-off. Global markets are bouncing, as crude oil has somewhat stabilized after the historic sell-off. Caution over restarting the country continues to dominate conversation, with several southern states set to reopen businesses. Senate passage of the coronavirus relief package may be helping investor sentiment this morning. Continue reading
DAILY INSIGHTS
Stocks opened lower as oil collapse continues. Stocks opened lower as market participants try to figure out the implications of crashing oil prices. While the May contract going negative got all of the attention Monday, the June futures contract for WTI crude oil is down more than 20% this morning. Continue reading
Market Blog
Headlines had oil selling at -$37.63 per barrel at close on Monday, April 20. The negative sign in front? Sellers had to pay buyers $37.63 to take the oil off their hands. Except this wasn’t the price of oil. It was the price of a useful financial instrument, called a futures contract, in this case a contract for delivery of oil in May at a particular price. The nearest futures contract in date is often used as a proxy for the price of oil, since it trades regularly and usually tracks the price of oil well. Continue reading
Market Blog
The huge equity rally continued last week, with the S&P 500 Index up another 3%, on the heels of adding more than 15% in the previous week. The gain during the past two weeks of 15.5% was the greatest since October 1974. Taking it a step further, the 15 trading days ending April 14 saw the S&P 500 up more than 27%, one of the greatest rallies ever. Continue reading