The post-COVID economic recovery has been notably uneven, often described as “K-shaped”, due to the divergence in economic realities for Americans. Those with substantial assets and high incomes have largely done well. Homeowners with low mortgage rates and no need to take on debt have been insulated from higher interest rates. Strong stock market returns […]
Continue Reading ›May 2024 Monthly Market Update
Stock indices climbed in May, with the S&P 500 and Dow gaining 4.8% and 2.3% respectively. U.S. Treasury yields ended the month relatively unchanged regardless of maturity. For the last two years, the Federal Reserve Bank has been reducing its holdings of U.S. Treasuries and Mortgage-Backed Securities (MBS) by limiting the reinvestment of maturities and […]
Continue Reading ›April 2024 Monthly Market Update
Stocks broke a five-month winning streak in April as the S&P 500 declined 4.2%, bouncing from an April 18th low of -5.5%. Bonds also declined, with the U.S. Aggregate Bond Index falling about 2.5% as yields rose. The two-year U.S. treasury yield hit 5% for the first time since November, gaining 41 basis points (+0.4%) […]
Continue Reading ›March 2024 Monthly Market Update
Stocks posted a strong first quarter, with the S&P 500 market-cap weighted index returning 10.6%. The S&P 500 equal-weighted index gained 7.9%, demonstrating broad-based gains across individual stocks. AI-related stocks continued to lead the rest of the market. The Federal Reserve decided to maintain the benchmark interest rate range of 5.25%-5.5% at their March meeting. […]
Continue Reading ›February 2024 Monthly Market Update
U.S. stock markets finished higher in February, with the S&P 500 +5.2% for the month. Gains were driven by the underlying strength of the economy evidenced by economic data and better-than-expected earnings results, expectations for interest rates, and hype surrounding Artificial Intelligence. In terms of the broader economy, jobs and growth data remain strong, and […]
Continue Reading ›January 2024 Monthly Market Update
The first month of 2024 echoed the prevailing narrative of late 2023, characterized by moderating inflation, a resilient economy, and the anticipation of imminent interest rate cuts, driving U.S. stock indices to new record highs. Despite suffering its worst single-day loss since September on the final day of the month, triggered by Big Tech earnings […]
Continue Reading ›December 2023 Monthly Market Update
The end of the year always seems to be when pundits and forecasters come out with a bevy of predictions. We’ll highlight the positives and negatives for markets in the year ahead, but first, let’s have a look at the past year. Coming into 2023, markets faced a general pessimism. Reuters polls of economists put […]
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