Monthly Market Updates
Positive Developments Rolling into September Published - 2019-09-11
September is often a weak time for the market; however, over the course of the past month there have been a number of positive developments that should not go unnoticed. Historically, September has been the single worst-performing month for the S&P 500 Index (SPX), the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), and the Nasdaq Composite (NASD) (source: Stock Trader's Almanac 2018). The Almanac says, “September is when leaves and stocks tend to fall; on Wall Street, it’s the worst month of all.” So far, September 2019 has bucked that historical trend with the major US indices up more than 2% (through 9/9).
If History Is Any Indication, Signals Point to a Positive Second Half of 2019 Published - 2019-07-10
Among the biggest questions on investors’ minds today are questions regarding interest rates and trade. Is the Fed going to cut rates despite the better-than-expected June jobs report? Are the US and China going to reach a trade deal? Against this backdrop, the S&P 500 (SPX) had one of the best Junes in its history. June 2019 was the seventh best June ever for the S&P 500, and second best in the “modern era” (since 1950), as the Index gained nearly 7%. With last month’s strong performance, the S&P 500 Index notched a gain of more than 17% through the first half of the year, and each of the major US large cap indices have recently reached new all-time highs.
Despite a Dismal May, Domestic Equities Continue to Shine as the Top-Ranked Broad Asset Class Published - 2019-06-12
April showers may indeed bring May flowers, however, things were less-than-rosy for the domestic equity market in the month of May. Driven by worries over escalating trade tensions, each of the major US indices posted relatively sizeable losses for the month, with the S&P 500 (SPX) down 5.87%, the Dow losing 6.11%, and the Nasdaq Composite dropping 7.41%, on a price return basis. Interestingly enough, May produced the first 5% pullback of the year.
IN THE BIG DANCE OF FINANCE, U.S. EQUITIES ARE A #1 SEED Published - 2019-04-11
The first quarter of 2019 is in the books and the equity market managed to shake off a brutal fourth quarter, only to come back with a vengeance in Q1 2019, much like the University of Virginia men's basketball team. You may recall the dismal showing from the Cavaliers in the 2018 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament, when they fell to the virtually unknown University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC) Retrievers, becoming the first number one seed in the history of the tournament to lose to a 16-seed team. Fast forward to the 2019 tournament, and the Virginia Cavaliers were, once again, a number one seed. However, the outcome was very different, as Virginia went on to win the entire tournament in dramatic fashion.
U.S. EQUITIES SPRING AHEAD Published - 2019-03-14
2019 has started off with double digits gains across all of the major US Equity indices, including the Nasdaq 100, S&P 500, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average, through the first two months of the year. These gains have come against the backdrop of a potential US-China trade deal, Brexit, and an evolving policy outlook from the Fed, with the market seemingly pushing these concerns to the back burner, or simply priced in expectations. Either way, the biggest question on many investors' minds these days is, "Can this rally continue through the end of the year?".
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