Market Commentary

Weekly Market Commentary February 19, 2019

The S&P 500 surged 2.6% on the news an agreement had been reached to avoid a government shutdown and increased optimism about trade negotiations. Global stocks participated in the rally.

Market Commentary

Weekly Market Commentary February 11, 2019

U.S. stocks finished barely positive last week. The S&P 500 inched 0.1% higher on a relatively light week for news. The government shutdown has delayed a number of key statistics about the strength of the U.S. economy and given investors less data then expected to evaluate it.

Market Commentary

Weekly Market Commentary February 04, 2019

Markets returned to rally mode last week and finished January significantly higher. The S&P 500 surged 1.6% on strong employment data, the Federal Reserve communicating its concerns about slowing growth, and generally positive earnings data. The relatively strong earnings pushed Carson’s expectations for earnings growth from 11% to just less than 13%. Strong earnings performance from major oil companies helped boost estimates, too.

Market Commentary

Weekly Market Commentary January 28, 2019

After a four-week rally, stocks finished close to unchanged last week. The S&P 500 shed 0.2% but is still up 6.4% this year. The S&P 500 opened sharply lower and then rose the rest of the holiday-shortened week.

Market Commentary

Weekly Market Commentary January 14, 2019

After enduring a number of big swings in the market, investors benefited from a steady uptrend in stocks last week. The S&P 500 gained 2.6%, and only a tiny loss on Friday stopped the index from rising every day. The gains came steadily as there were no moves of more than 1% last week.

Market Commentary

Weekly Market Commentary January 07, 2019

The stock market wrapped up 2018 and began 2019 with a couple of big swings as investors reacted to a series of major announcements. On Wednesday evening, Apple warned iPhone sales in China were below expectations. The news sent stocks lower on Thursday, but those losses were erased when stocks soared after an extremely strong jobs report and indications of a more flexible Federal Reserve.

Market Commentary

Weekly Market Commentary December 31, 2018

Global stock markets continued to swing wildly last week as shifts in sentiment seemed to push the markets sharply higher and lower without much rationale.

Market Commentary

Weekly Market Commentary December 17, 2018

After a few near misses, the S&P 500 finally entered a correction, meaning it closed more than 10% below its previous all-time closing high. The S&P 500 had flirted with these levels three previous times, even trading into correction territory. But it had always rallied enough at the close to stay above the 10% mark.

Market Commentary

Weekly Market Commentary December 10, 2018

The market is starting to grate on some investors. The S&P 500 dropped 4.6% last week on concerns the reported trade truce wasn’t as substantial as hoped and that global economic growth continued to slow. Global stocks participated in the decline as the MSCI ACWI lost 3.5% last week.

Market Commentary

Weekly Market Commentary December 3, 2018

Last week provided investors clarity on their two biggest concerns: interest rates and trade. Federal Reserve communication indicated rate increases will likely slow in 2019, and over the weekend, the U.S. and China announced an agreement to delay an increase in tariffs from 10% to 25% on a wide range of U.S. goods. In exchange, the Chinese will buy more U.S. goods, and both sides will seek an agreement in the next quarter.