Weekly Update

The Weekly Update

Week of June 17, 2017

By Christopher T. Much, CFP®, AIF®

Last Friday, stocks closed at record highs. The S&P 500 rose 1.41% and the Dow climbed 1.04%—both closing at new peaks. The NASDAQ reported a 2.58% gain and the MSCI EAFE posted a 2.38% increase. Despite continuing headlines from Washington, the markets remain productive and strong. New Q2 numbers also rolled in last week, giving us a clearer picture of what happened from April through June.

Q2 Coming Into Focus

Over the second quarter, the S&P 500 rose 2.57%, the Dow gained 3.32%, and the NASDAQ jumped 3.87%. Meanwhile, the MSCI EAFE improved by 5.0%. Analysts are now predicting that Q2 Gross Domestic Product (GDP) will grow to 2.4%—stronger than Q1’s soft 1.4% increase.

While we wait for more numbers and reports, here are some highlights so far:

…

The Weekly Update

Week of July 10, 2017

By Christopher T. Much, CFP®, AIF®

As the country celebrated the Fourth of July last week, the markets experienced some volatility, though they finished a bit flat overall. The Dow fell then rose to close the week up 0.30%. The S&P 500 climbed a modest 0.07% for the week, and the NASDAQ finished the week up 0.21%. The MSCI EAFE fell 0.48%.

Internationally, European markets posted soft gains on Friday, though emerging markets fell for a second-straight week. Further, gold dropped to a 5-month low, while bond yields rose globally on weakening bond markets. In addition, world leaders met last week at the G20 Global Summit and issued a statement supporting open markets. They agreed to fight unfair trade practices, such as countries blocking or heavily taxing imports to protect domestic industries.

A …

The Weekly Update

Week of July 3, 2017

By Christopher T. Much, CFP®, AIF®

As Q2 ended, markets hit a six-week volatility high. While the tech sector declined during the week, consumer discretionary and industrial sectors drove stocks higher on Friday. On Friday, the tech-heavy NASDAQ slumped 1.99%. The S&P fell 0.61% and the DOW dropped 0.21%. Globally, the MSCI EAFE declined 0.32%, and European markets and most of the Asian markets finished the week down.

The Fed reported during the week that the largest U.S. banks passed the stress test evaluating their financial soundness. The test results indicate that banks have the capital structures to withstand difficult economic times. In addition, the results gave banks a green light to pay shareholders dividends and engage in share buybacks.

Other Market News

• Q1 Gross Domestic Product Numbers Go …
  

The Weekly Update

Week of June 26, 2017

By Christopher T. Much, CFP®, AIF®

Last week, markets kept relatively quiet despite the continuing drop in oil prices. The S&P 500 rose by 0.21%, the Dow increased by 0.05%, and the NASDAQ—the week’s best performer—jumped 1.84%. Internationally, the MSCI EAFE fell by 0.20%. Asian markets remained relatively mixed while European markets were down modestly.

A global glut of oil has led to 5-straight weeks of price declines. OPEC’s attempts to curb oil production have not yet played out as expected, as prices are down roughly 20% for the year. Though oil rose slightly on Friday due to a weaker U.S. dollar, oil markets closed the week at a 10-month low. Still, oil stocks and energy companies in general comprise less than 6% of stocks in the S&P 500 on …

The Weekly Update

Week of June 19, 2017

By Christopher Much, CFP®, AIF®

Markets remained mixed last week as the Dow closed at another record high, while the NASDAQ fell and the S&P 500 held steady. By Friday, the Dow gained 0.52%, the NASDAQ fell -0.92%, and the S&P 500 gained a slight 0.05%. Meanwhile, the MSCI EAFE remained virtually unchanged from last week, down only -0.002%.

In other markets, oil closed at $44.74 a barrel, down 2.4% on the week—its fourth week of declines. Overall, European equity markets remained steady while most Asian markets recorded modest gains at week’s end.

The Fed Increases Interest Rates

As expected, the Fed announced last week that it raised the short-term interest rate target by 25 basis points to a range between 1.00 and 1.25%. This was the third interest rate hike …

The Weekly Update

Week of June 12, 2017

By Christopher Much, CFP®, AIF®

Markets last week were mixed with leading tech stocks falling dramatically as some investors pulled profits. The NASDAQ took the biggest hit, finishing 1.55% down on the week—its worst week of the year. Meanwhile, the Dow rose 0.31% for the week, notching another record close on Friday. The S&P 500 fell 0.30%, and the MSCI EAFE closed the week down 1.22%.

The S&P tech sector dropped 3.3% on Friday; however, it remained up 18% for the year. Major tech stocks account for almost 13% of the total number of stocks in the S&P 500, while comprising nearly 40% of the S&P 500 increase for the year.

Internationally, Asian markets were mixed while European markets closed the week generally higher. The European equities markets took last week’s …

CTS Financial Group’s Chicago Bulls team outing

It wasn’t the result we were hoping for, but the CTS team had fun. Go #Bulls!

Is it ever too early to begin filing your taxes?

Why not get a head start?

Click on the link below for more details!

Happy Holidays from CTS!

We wish you peace and joy this holiday season; and may your New Year be filled with health, happiness and prosperity.

How do presidential elections affect the stock market? With the U.S. presidential election just a few weeks out, coupled with the unprecedented media coverage this election has garnered, many people are questioning how the upcoming presidential election might affect their investment portfolios. They are also asking if they should be making some investment changes to perhaps protect their investments due to the somewhat antagonistic nature of this year’s presidential campaign. The fact is that economists have extensively researched the effects that a presidential election has had on the stock market in the past going back for more than a century. One widely known theory (at least to investment professionals) is aptly called the “Presidential Election Cycle Theory” which was developed by stock market historian, author and theorist Yale Hirsch. This theory postulates a slowdown in financial market trends in the first year following the election. We’ll dive into this theory …