Category: Weekly Market Commentary
Market Commentary
Market Commentary: Gridlock Can Be Good
It is Thanksgiving week, so we want to review a few reasons for investors to be thankful. Yes, it has been a tough year. But things are looking better, and we expect more improvement in 2023. Gridlock Can Be Good The first reason to be thankful is stocks have continued to rally off their Oc …
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Market Commentary
Market Commentary: A Big Bounce
On the heels of a huge month for stocks in October, the bull continued to soar in November, as the S&P 500 had its best week since June and the NASDAQ had its best week since March. Sparking much of the rally was news that inflation has likely peaked and is finally slowing. We’ll discus …
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Market Commentary
Market Commentary: A Dovish Statement Reversed by a Hawkish Powell
As expected, the Federal Reserve raised the federal funds rate by 0.75% to the 3.75-4% range on Wednesday. This was the fourth successive 0.75% hike. The initial market focus was on a new line inserted in the official statement, wherein the Fed nodded in the direction of decelerating the pa …
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Market Commentary
An Incredible Month for the Markets
Stocks ended another strong week, continuing the trend of buyers stepping up in October. Several years have seen October kill off bear markets, and 2022 may join that list. In fact, the only two years that started off worse for the S&P 500 than 2022 were 1974 and 2002, and both of those …
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Market Commentary
Market Commentary: The October Bounce Continues
Stocks had a solid week, gaining nearly 5%. The jump was sparked by rumors on Friday that the Federal Reserve will raise rates by 75 basis points in November and then consider smaller hikes going forward. The market has priced in an extremely hawkish Fed, and any slight tilt to a more dovis …
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Market Commentary
Market Commentary: The Case for the Formation of a Major Low
We’ll get to the disappointing inflation data next, but Thursday morning had a pure panic feel to it — potentially the washout that is needed for lows to form.
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Market Commentary
Market Commentary: Did the Lows Just Take Place? Maybe.
October is known as a bear market killer, as many bear markets have ended during this month. Some of the most famous were the 1974 and 2002 bears, which both ended within the first two weeks of October. Those bears were down more than 48% and 49%, respectively, when the ultimate lows took p …
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Market Commentary
Market Commentary: October Is Misunderstood
October Is Misunderstood Good riddance to September, as both stocks and bonds had another rough month. When it was all said and done, the S&P 500 fell 9.3% for the worst September since 2008 and one of the worst ever. For the quarter, the S&P 500 lost 5.3%. That was the third consec …
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Market Commentary
Market Commentary: Things Are Bad, and That Could Be Good
Stocks had another rough week. The S&P 500 flirted with the June lows and swung back into bear market territory. Investors are worried about inflation, the Fed, the economy, the Russia-Ukraine war, among other market challenges.
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Market Commentary
Market Commentary: Wake Me Up When September Ends
The popular Green Day song titled “Wake Me Up When September Ends” feels quite appropriate given the recent market volatility. In fact, the S&P 500 has now dropped at least 3% for three of the past four weeks. As we’ve noted in this commentary, stocks tend to be quite volatile and poten …
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