Stocks and bonds moved in opposite directions as the S&P 500 finished positive on the week despite falling nearly 2 percent between Thursday and Friday. Bonds, on the other hand, declined due to higher interest rates.
iCan't Afford This
Back to Basics
With this week’s latest rebound, the S&P 500 has now closed up or down more than 1 percent 27 times year-to-date ‒ this is more than three times the daily volatility that investors experienced in 2017. Accompanying higher stock prices, safe-haven bonds retreated modestly.
It's Always Something
With trade tensions picking up, the S&P 500 experienced a wild ride this week, ending the week declining more than 1 percent. The first week of trading in the second quarter experienced huge intraday swings, highlighted by Wednesday’s volatility.
There's No Place Like Home
The S&P 500 put up strong gains into the holiday and finished up 2 percent for the week. This quarter has been marked by the return of volatility with the market posting daily gains or losses in excess of 1 percent on 22 different occasions. To put this in perspective, there were just eight of these instances in all of 2017.
Will Facebook Find Some Friends?
In the face of unquestionably strong economic data, global equities declined nearly 5 percent on the week with the S&P 500 falling close to 6 percent. The sharp selloff can be attributed to a confluence of factors, none of which will have any impact on near-term earnings momentum.
50 Shades of Beige
U.S. factory production exceeded growth expectations and the University of Michigan consumer confidence survey came in at a 14-year high, helping U.S. stocks to break out of their four-day slump (triggered by tariffs and White House turmoil). However, it won’t be enough to turn in positive numbers for the week.
There's a New Tariff in Town
Strong economic data led the market to big gains this week, despite President Trump’s tariff announcement. The S&P 500 was up over 3 percent, while bond yields were quiet on the week. Volatility has indeed returned to the market with three-out-of-five days experiencing more-than-1-percent swings in value.
Fed Chair Powell - Yellen 2.0
For the week the equity markets were lower by more than three percent as investors reacted to the news that President Trump intends to impose a 25 percent tariff on steel imports and a 10 percent tariff on aluminum imports fueling fear of protectionist economic policy.
Piling It On
Global equity markets were up slightly this week after the U.S. experienced its greatest one-week gain since 2011 in the previous week. Interest rates took a pause in their upward move with the 10-Year Treasury flat on the week at 2.87 percent.
Back In Business
Following the stock market’s first correction since the Chinese growth scare two years ago, blue-chip stocks have rebounded furiously, producing the best week of returns since December of 2011. Investors spooked by the rapid descent of stock prices earlier this month are now scrambling to get back in.
Fire and Fury
The S&P 500 officially entered correction mode this week, pulling back approximately 10 percent from the January highs.
January Is the Market's Groundhog?
This week we experienced something we haven’t in some time: a down week. Stocks struggled to a close, down 3.8 percent with no help from blue-chip names. Alphabet (GOOGL) and Apple reports weren’t favored by Wall Street, driving the stocks down 5.2 and 4.3 percent, respectively.
Give Me One Good Reason
Equity markets finished the week up by 1.5 percent, and now are up almost 7 percent for the year. This is the 4th best start to the year for the S&P 500. The U.S. Treasury 10-year bond yield continued its march higher by 6 basis points, finishing at 2.65 percent.
Take the Money and Run
Global equity markets continued their hot start to the year with the S&P gaining 0.6 percent, Europe 1.25 percent and emerging markets up 1.65 percent. On the other hand, bonds declined slightly as interest rates moved higher with the 10-year U.S. Treasury yield finishing the week at 2.63 percent, its highest level since last spring.
U.S. Core Inflation Drifts Slightly Higher
U.S. stocks continued their upward climb this week, with the Dow Jones Industrial Index trading above 25,775 and the S&P 500 rising approximately 1.5 percent for the week. The U.S. dollar traded off relative to the euro, which surged to a three-year high of $1.21.
Off to the Races
Stocks picked up where they left off in 2017, rising across market caps and geographies for each of the first four trading days of the new year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average eclipsed the 25,000 mark this week and it took just 23 trading days to gain its latest 1,000 points—the fastest such gain in index history.
One More Time
Stocks finished the last week of December relatively flat resulting in a 20+ percent total return for the S&P 500 for 2017. Interest rates were steady with the yield on the 10-year U.S. Treasury ending the year at 2.41 percent, down slightly from a year ago.
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act: Gifts for Investors
This week the S&P 500 was up slightly as investors focused on the passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act which was signed into law by President Trump on Friday morning. Conversely, bonds sold off with interest rates moving higher with the 10-year U.S. Treasury increasing in yield from 2.39 percent to 2.48 percent, which is a substantial move in the span of a week. Bond investors are anticipating an increase in Treasury bond issuance with expected increased deficit spending due to the tax law.
A New Hope … In Congress
Markets moved modestly higher this week with domestic stocks up nearly 1 percent and the benchmark 10-year Treasury was off 2 basis points. As if held up by a mysterious force, Bitcoin set a new high Friday just shy of 18,000.
Tax Reform and the Muni Market
Stocks climbed in the U.S., Asia and Europe as the U.S. government averted a shut down and the jobs report reinforced optimism. The U.S. added 228,000 jobs in the month of November, higher than the expected addition of 195,000 jobs, due to an accelerating hiring trend which economists expect to continue into the next year. The S&P 500 hit new highs today, trading above 2,650.