Except for emerging markets, the broad stock market indices we present here had solid positive returns for the second quarter, and even more robust returns over the last year. The S&P 500 index fared the best over both periods due to its heavy weighting in technology, continuing a trend that has played out over much of the time since the…
The stock and bond markets started the year with a second positive quarter in a row, although both still show year-over-year losses. With the dollar peaking early last fall and the much anticipated European recession failing to materialize over their warmer than expected winter, foreign stocks have generally outperformed. Growth stocks led the market up in 2021, down in 2022, and up again in…
Things never got better for equity investors in 2022 than the first trading day of January, when the S&P 500 closed at its peak for the year and by October 12th it was down about 25%. From there, a rally did ensue through mid- December, as year-over-year inflation readings were continuing to ease and hopes grew for a lifting of…
The stock and bond markets started to recover over the last two weeks of June after a difficult start to the year in which the S&P 500 had fallen 23% and the Treasury 2yr/10yr yields had risen to 3.43%/3.48% from .73%/1.51%. The price of gasoline perhaps not-so-coincidentally peaked in mid-June within days of the stock and bond bottoms, and all three spent the…