Key Points Scaling the Wall of Worry Despite continued rate hikes, stubborn inflation, a banking crisis, and a drawn-out debt ceiling drama, risk assets performed very well in the first half of 2023, boosted by decent gains in June. U.S. equities led the major asset...
Quick Takes Stocks stumbled in choppy trading during the first week of July as more tough talk from the Federal Reserve, uninspiring economic reports, and mixed jobs data weighed on investors. The S&P 500 retreated -1.2%, the Russell 2000 fell -1.3%, and the...
Quick Takes Most global stock market indices rebounded from the prior week’s losses, led by U.S. small companies for a change. The S&P 500 Index was up +2.4%, the Nasdaq Composite Index rose +2.2%, and the small cap Russell 2000 Index jumped +3.7%. Developed...
Quick Takes Global stock market indices broke multi-week win streaks with their worst week in months. The S&P 500 Index and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index fell -1.4%, and the small-cap Russell 2000 Index dropped -2.9%. International stocks fell -3.4% and...
Quick Takes As expected, the Federal Reserve paused its rate hiking cycle after 10 consecutive hikes going back to January 2022. However, the latest projections put the federal funds rate at 5.6% which would imply one or two more hikes from the current 5% to 5.25%...
Quick Takes The S&P 500 made modest gains to keep a four-week win streak alive but also climbed +20% above its mid-October lows to start a new bull market. It was also a notable week for broadening market gains, with small-caps outperforming large-caps, value...
