Daily Insights
Awaiting the Fed. The Federal Reserve (Fed) concludes its two-day policy meeting this afternoon. Though no rate hike is expected, investors will look to the policymakers’ interest rate forecasts, known as the “dot plots,” along with comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell in his post-meeting press conference about the central bank’s plans to wind down its balance sheet. Continue reading
Today, the Federal Reserve (Fed) kicks off its second two-day meeting of 2019, and financial markets have high expectations for the outcome.
Daily Insights
The Fed’s high hurdle. Today, the Federal Reserve (Fed) kicks off its second two-day meeting of 2019, and market participants are overwhelmingly expecting the Fed to hold rates steady with a continued commitment to flexibility. Continue reading
Small cap stocks staged a furious rally to kick off 2019, with the Russell 2000 Index up nearly 18% year to date at the early March peak. Of course, you may remember that small caps were down much more than large caps at the end of 2018, as the Russell 2000 lost 20.5% in the fourth quarter for the worst quarterly decline since the U.S. debt downgrade in the third quarter of 2011. Continue reading
Daily Insights
Large caps may be better positioned than small caps given where we are in the business cycle. Small cap stocks have performed well so far in 2019, with the Russell 2000 Index, the most popular small cap benchmark, up 15.2% year to date compared with the 12.6% gain in the large cap S&P 500 Index. Continue reading
Stocks Resume Upward Momentum, Dow Lags on Boeing’s Woes.
US: S&P 500 Index +2.9%, Dow +1.6%, Nasdaq +3.8%
Europe: STOXX Europe 600 +2.8%, German DAX +2.0% France CAC 40 +3.3%, U.K. FTSE 100 +1.1%
Asia: Japan Nikkei +2.0%, China Shanghai Composite +1.75%, Korea KOSPI +1.8%
Rates/Commodities: 10-Year Treasury yield -5 basis points to 2.59%, WTI crude oil +5.1%, COMEX gold: -0.2%
U.S. equities rebounded from last week’s losses on the back of generally upbeat economic data and a lack of negative headlines.
LPL Research has been on the road sharing guidance for the year ahead from Outlook 2019, most recently with LPL advisors at our Masters Conference in Florida.
Daily Insights
S&P 500 gives resistance another try. With the S&P 500 Index’s move higher this morning, it appears to finally be taking out the key resistance level around 2817 that has plagued it for the past several months. A close near these levels would mark the highest point since before October 10, the day of the 3.3% plunge that arguably kicked off the larger sell-off. Continue reading
The Brexit saga seems like it has no end—sort of like the digits of pi as we celebrate National Pi Day today. On Tuesday, March 12, U.K. Prime Minister Theresa May suffered a second rejection of her Brexit deal when the U.K. Parliament soundly voted down her revamped proposal, as expected. Another vote was then held yesterday on a “hard Brexit” (aka no deal) that would lead to the U.K. separating from the European Union (EU) without a formal agreement in place.
Daily Insights
China trade deal coming together. The latest news out of Washington, D.C., continues to point to an agreement fairly soon, one of the key drivers in propelling the S&P 500 Index’s quick return to the 2800 level this week. Key points of negotiation include: Existing tariff removals, currency, auto tariffs, join venture requirements, market access, intellectual property protection, and Chinese goods purchase commitments. Continue reading