Weekly Update

The Weekly Update

Week of June 21st, 2022
By Christopher T. Much, CFP®, AIF®

Stocks moved lower last week as recession fears deepened following a Fed hike in interest rates and weak economic data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 4.79%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 dropped 5.79%. The Nasdaq Composite index slid 4.78% for the week. The MSCI EAFE index, which tracks developed overseas stock markets, slumped 4.51%.

Stocks Tumble
Stocks were under pressure all week due to inflation worries, higher yields, and rising recession concerns. In advance of the much-awaited mid-week meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), bond yields jumped, and stocks retreated on speculation that the Fed might raise rates by 75 basis points. When the Fed announced a 75-basis point hike on Wednesday, stocks rebounded strongly.

The enthusiasm was short-lived. Stocks resumed their slide on Thursday as global central banks followed with their own rate hikes. Recession fears …

The Weekly Update

Week of June 13th, 2022
By Christopher T. Much, CFP®, AIF®

A higher-than-expected inflation report triggered a sell-off on Friday, leaving stocks in the red for the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 4.58%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 dropped 5.05%. The Nasdaq Composite index slid 5.60% for the week. The MSCI EAFE index, which tracks developed overseas stock markets, declined 1.81%.

Inflation Upends Stocks
Stocks gyrated between gains and losses last week until sliding lower on Friday’s hot inflation report, which heightened worries over a more aggressive Fed and a further economic slowdown. Stocks moved higher to begin the week, despite rising bond yields, a profit warning from a major retailer, and Senate testimony by Secretary of Treasury Janet Yellen, who said that inflation was likely to remain elevated.

Stocks turned lower later in the week on renewed concerns of an economic slowdown, sparked by a downward revision in …

The Weekly Update

Week of June 6th, 2022
By Christopher T. Much, CFP®, AIF®

In a holiday-shortened week of volatile trading, stocks surrendered some of the previous week’s strong gains.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.94%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 declined 1.20%. The Nasdaq Composite index lost 0.98% for the week. The MSCI EAFE index, which tracks developed overseas stock markets, slipped 0.17%.

An Uncertain Market
Stocks experienced wild swings last week, in part, due to ongoing uncertainty over economic health and the path of inflation. Investors seemed conflicted when interpreting the data, in some instances viewing economic strength as a negative since it may mean more aggressive rate hikes from the Fed.

Illustrative of how this uncertainty has played out, stocks surged higher on Thursday despite comments from Fed Vice Chair Lael Brainard indicating it’s unlikely that the Fed will pause on rate hikes. Then on Friday, stocks dropped as a …

The Weekly Update

Week of May 31st, 2022
By Christopher T. Much, CFP®, AIF®

Stocks posted solid gains for the week, buoyed by the release of Fed meeting minutes and upbeat earnings from mid-size and discount retailers.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 6.24%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 advanced 6.58%. The Nasdaq Composite index gained 6.84% for the week. The MSCI EAFE index, which tracks developed overseas stock markets, rose 2.09%.

A Good Week
The stock market staged a broad rally last week, ignited by the release of minutes from the May’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. The meeting notes eased concerns that the Fed might pursue a more aggressive monetary tightening stance than the Street had anticipated.

Investor sentiment rose owing to solid earnings and encouraging guidance from several mid-size and discount retailers, which eased concerns about the health of the American consumer. A smaller rise in the personal consumption expenditures …

The Weekly Update

Week of May 23rd, 2022
By Christopher T. Much, CFP®, AIF®

Recession fears grew last week following weak earnings reports from major retailers, sending stocks lower.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 2.90%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 lost 3.05%. The Nasdaq Composite index dropped 3.82% for the week. The MSCI EAFE index, which tracks developed overseas stock markets, gained 0.84%.

Trending Lower
Stock prices remained in a downtrend, capped by a sell-off on Wednesday following a succession of disappointing earnings reports from several major retailers. Despite solid April retail sales and industrial production data, weak economic numbers from China and shrinking profit margins at U.S. retailers fanned recession fears throughout the week.

Rising yields, which have been an overhang to the markets in recent weeks, turned lower as investors appeared to move cash to bonds from stocks. But lower yields did not help stock prices, which closed out the week …

The Weekly Update

Week of May 16th, 2022
By Christopher T. Much, CFP®, AIF®

In a volatile trading week, stocks extended their losses as economic growth and inflation concerns soured investor sentiment.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 2.14%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 lost 2.41%. The Nasdaq Composite index fell 2.80% for the week. The MSCI EAFE index, which tracks developed overseas stock markets, slumped 3.21%.

A Turbulent Week
Inflation moved to center stage last week with the release of April’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Producer Price Index. Both numbers came near their 40-year highs but were lower than March’s year-over-year numbers. The results heightened investor anxiety about future Fed monetary tightening and its impact on economic growth.

In recent weeks, technology stocks have borne the brunt of the downdraft as investors lightened up on risk exposures, with some of the mega-cap tech names getting swept up in the selling pressure. …

The Weekly Update

Week of May 9th, 2022
By Christopher T. Much, CFP®, AIF®

With the Fed in focus, the markets experienced wide price swings over the course of last week, as technology companies led the market lower.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average slipped 0.24%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 declined 0.21%. The Nasdaq Composite index dropped 1.54% for the week. The MSCI EAFE index, which tracks developed overseas stock markets, fell 1.99%.

A Wild Week
After successive daily gains to begin the week, stocks staged a powerful relief rally in response to Wednesday’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) announcement, aided by Fed Chair Powell’s comment that a 75-basis point hike was not under active consideration.

Stocks, however, dropped the following day as investors reassessed the implications of a tighter monetary policy. Also on Thursday, the yield on the 10-year Treasury Note closed above three percent. News that worker productivity fell 7.5% and labor …

The Weekly Update

Week of May 2nd, 2022
By Christopher T. Much, CFP®, AIF®

On Friday, a sharp sell-off sent major stock market indices into negative territory for the week, capping a volatile close to April.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 2.47%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 tumbled 3.27%. The Nasdaq Composite index dropped 3.93% for the week. The MSCI EAFE index, which tracks developed overseas stock markets, fell 3.33%.

Stocks Slide
Trading was volatile in the final week of April as investors struggled with the crosscurrents of global economic growth anxieties stemming from widening COVID-related lockdowns in China and a fresh batch of corporate earnings reports.

Monday set the tone for the week. Stocks staged an intraday reversal, wiping out a deep morning decline to end the day higher. After broad losses on Tuesday and a choppy session on Wednesday, stocks mounted a powerful rally Thursday thanks to positive corporate earnings reports, …

The Weekly Update

Week of April 25th, 2022
By Christopher T. Much, CFP®, AIF®

Hawkish comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell overshadowed many largely positive earnings results, sending stocks lower for the week.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 1.86%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 dropped 2.75%. The Nasdaq Composite index fell 3.83% for the week. The MSCI EAFE index, which tracks developed overseas stock markets, advanced 0.50%.

Focus Comes Off Earnings
With the inflation report in the rearview mirror and a Fed meeting two weeks away, many may have expected corporate earnings to be in focus last week. Comments by Jerome Powell stole the spotlight.

Investors began the week awaiting earnings reports looking for insight into businesses handling the latest inflation, a jittery consumer, tighter monetary policy, and ongoing supply chain issues. Despite one high-profile earnings disappointment, corporate profits appeared better than expected. By the time trading began on Thursday, 17% of S&P …

The Weekly Update

Week of April 18th, 2022
By Christopher T. Much, CFP®, AIF®

Stocks posted losses in a holiday-shortened trading week as the first-quarter earnings season kicked off and investors digested new inflation data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.78%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 fell 2.13%. The Nasdaq Composite index dropped 2.63% for the week. The MSCI EAFE index, which tracks developed overseas stock markets, lost 1.20%.

Watching Bonds
Stocks began the week moving lower as bond yields climbed higher, with growth stocks suffering some of the steepest declines. Investors considered China’s ongoing lockdown warily, worried it might worsen supply-chain issues.

Historically high consumer and producer price inflation reports were shrugged off by the stock and bond markets in the main, with bond yields slipping despite the hot inflation numbers. Despite an encouraging start to the first-quarter earnings season, stocks pulled back on Friday as bond yields resumed their move higher …