Daily Insights
Stocks continue to climb. Stocks are getting a nice bump this morning after a better-than-expected November jobs report, with the S&P 500 Index poised for a third straight day of gains. Investors are in wait-and-see mode as they watch a continuous string of U.S.-China trade headlines. Continue reading
Daily Insights
Stocks rebound. Stocks are up this morning, adding to the S&P 500 Index’s 0.6% gain on Wednesday. Trade sentiment has shifted once again after a Wednesday report indicating that the United States and China are on track to reach a limited trade agreement by December 15 (when higher tariffs on $160 billion in Chinese imports are scheduled to kick in). Continue reading
Market Blog
December 4, 2019
It has been a rough start to the most wonderful month of them all, with the S&P 500 Index down each of the first two days of December. Don’t stop believing just yet, though.
Everyone knows December has usually been a good month for stocks, but what happened last year is still fresh in the minds of many investors. The S&P 500 fell 9.1% in December 2018 for the worst December since 1931. That sounds really bad, until you realize stocks fell 30% in September 1931, but we digress.
Daily Insights
Stocks bounce back. Stocks are bouncing back this morning after they kicked off December with a two-day slide. The S&P 500 Index has dropped 1.5% so far this month amid a pessimistic turn in trade headlines, culminating in President Trump’s indications on Tuesday that he has “no deadline” in reaching a limited trade agreement with China. Continue reading
Daily Insights
Stocks slide. Stocks are sliding again this morning on reports of President Trump’s indications that he has “no deadline” to reach a limited trade agreement with China. Those reports could decrease the likelihood of a delay in an upcoming tariff hike scheduled to take effect on December 15. Continue reading
Daily Insights
Welcome to December. It’s the most wonderful time of the year for U.S. stocks (based on history). Since 1950, the S&P 500 Index has climbed an average of 1.5% in December, its second-best monthly performance over that period. The last two months of the year have historically been the strongest for U.S. equities, and the seasonal tailwind has already appeared. Continue reading
Daily Insights
Drifting higher. U.S. stocks are drifting higher once again this morning, with the S&P 500 Index poised for its third straight record high close. Risk sentiment has improved recently amid a new batch of optimistic trade headlines, and the absence of other market-moving news around the globe. Continue reading
Market Blog
November 26, 2019
It took nearly 15 months, but the Russell 2000 Index finally broke out to a new 52-week high. On November 25, the Russell 2000 gained an impressive 2.1% to close at its highest level since October 2018. Continue reading
Daily Insights
Stocks little changed. U.S. stocks are little changed this morning after the S&P 500 Index notched its 11th record high since the end of October. The benchmark gained 0.75% on Monday after China announced it would tighten rules on intellectual property. Continue reading
Daily Insights
Earnings update. Third quarter S&P 500 Index earnings barely budged after last week’s wave of retail results. S&P 500 profits are tracking to a 2.2% year-over-year decline last quarter, with over 480 S&P 500 companies having reported. While that year-over-year change is nearly 2 percentage points higher than September 30’s estimate, the upside is slightly less than recent trends. Continue reading