Vol-a-what?
OVERVIEW The major U.S. stock indices ended the week in mixed territory. The S&P 500 gained 0.16 percent, but the Dow and the Nasdaq edged lower by 0.13 and 0.10 percent, respectively. The largest weekly gains came from small-cap stocks, which rose by 0.87...
Week of 11/24/2019 through 11/30/2019
OVERVIEW After a shortened week of trading due to the holidays, the S&P 500 Index gained nearly one percent, as growth and small-cap stocks drove the U.S. stock market to new heights. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite did even better, gaining 1.71 percent. Developed...
Week of 11/17/2019 through 11/23/2019
OVERVIEW The U.S. stock market finally took a breather last week after rising for six straight weeks. The S&P 500 Index dropped about a third of a percent to end the week, and the NASDAQ Composite dropped a quarter of a percent. Developed country stocks did worse...
Week of 11/10/2019 through 11/16/2019
OVERVIEW The S&P 500 Index rose for the sixth consecutive week after notching a weekly gain of 0.89 percent. That marks the index's longest winning streak since the fourth quarter of 2017, where it rose for eight weeks in a row. Stocks in the United States...
Week of 11/03/2019 through 11/09/2019
OVERVIEW U.S. stocks rose yet another week, as the S&P 500 climbed 0.85 percent. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and the Nasdaq Composite did even better, gaining 1.22 and 1.06 percent, respectively. Although growth and small-cap stocks did well last week, value...
Week of 10/27/2019 through 11/02/2019
OVERVIEW The U.S. stock market, as measured by the S&P 500 index, rose nearly 1.5 percent last week and posted its fourth straight week of gains. Growth and large-cap stocks led the advance, gaining around 1.7 percent each. International stocks also rose but to a...
Week of 10/20/2019 through 10/26/2019
OVERVIEW Implied volatility dropped in the U.S. stock market last week as the S&P 500 index flirted with all-time highs. The U.S. MSCI index posted its largest gain in seven weeks, rising 1.3 percent. It appears that stocks are trying to gain some momentum and...
Week of 10/6/2019 through 10/12/2019
OVERVIEW U.S. stocks rose moderately last week, as the S&P 500 index gained 0.62 percent. The Materials sector led the S&P 500, gaining 1.9 percent. Utilities, however, lost 1.4 percent for the week, lagging all the other sectors. In a reversal from the prior...
Chart of the Week: It’s Just a Flesh Wound
We've seen more and more data suggesting that the US economy is slowing. Along with the data has come more and more calls that the US will soon enter a recession. The above chart looks at the impact of this on the stock market (as represented by the S&P 500 stock...
Weekly Market Thoughts – 9/29/2019 through 10/5/2019
OVERVIEW After a volatile week of trading, the S&P 500 index ended lower by 0.33 percent. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite, however, gained 0.54 percent for the week, mirroring the 0.52 percent gain in growth stocks. On the international front, developed country...
