SLIP SLIDING AWAY The stock market staged its own version of this Paul Simon fabled song during the final months of the year. Even the short-lived surge after the election was not enough to keep most stocks from lapsing into the red for the quarter. By year-end, most stocks had declined at least 10% below […]

WARNING SIGNALS FOR STOCKS It was a roller coaster quarter. In early July, it began in hearty fashion. The market advanced smartly in the first two weeks, led by a rotation into small cap companies. Then, it dropped nearly 10% over the ensuing three weeks; so much, that nearly all of the gain for the […]

DID WE JUST HAVE A CORRECTION IN THE SECOND QUARTER? Stocks did not have a good second quarter, contrary to what you might think. The S&P was fine and hovered near all-time highs. But, this was mostly because of the strength in Nvidia and Apple shares, which contributed most of the 4% gain for the […]

1st Quarter 2024 Market Overview EXCEEDING HIGH HOPES If you had high hopes for the stock market at the beginning of the year, they were probably exceeded. Good conditions for investing prevailed throughout the first quarter. While nudging higher, both interest rates and inflation appeared to be contained. Expected interest rate cuts from the Fed […]

4th Quarter 2023 Market Overview The stock market bolted higher in the final two months of the year, ending a topsy-turvy 2023 with sizeable gains. After enduring a decline of almost 10% from August to October, the S&P 500 rose 13.36% in November and December. It was a topsy-turvy year. Following the bludgeoning from 2022, […]

3rd Quarter 2023 Market Overview Bend But Not Break The stock market retreated in Q3, succumbing to pressure from higher interest rates. The decline broke a three-quarter win streak for the broad market. The month of September held true to form as consistently being the weakest seasonal period of the year. The S&P 500 fell […]

2nd Quarter 2023 Market Overview What’s Going On? It was a perplexing first half of 2023. Wall Street was caught offside at what unfolded in the markets and this has led to growing uncertainty about the optimum strategy for the rest of the year. At the beginning of the year, we remember, the dominant outlook […]

1st Quarter 2023 Market Overview What is Not to Like? What a difference a year makes. At the outset of last year, the stock market was at record levels; high-risk territory. Inflation was soaring, and interest rates were spiking. When war broke out in Ukraine, everything was compounded, as supply chains were interrupted. The combination […]

4th Quarter 2022 Market Overview GOODBYE 2022 The fourth quarter brought a welcomed respite from the bumpy downtrend that plagued the markets, all year long. After the brutal month of September, in which the S&P 500 fell 9.3%, the index held on for a 7% gain for the fourth quarter, reversing three consecutive negative quarters. […]

3rd Quarter 2022 Market Overview PAIN BEFORE PROSPERITY It was a dismal quarter. We just have to know that things will get better. After a terrible first half of the year, it looked as if the markets established some footing and a gradual return to normality in the economy would usher a stock market recovery.  […]