Published September 3, 2021
The S&P 500 has spent ten straight months above its 50-day moving average, one of history’s longest stretches of calm. Ultra-low interest rates from an extremely cautious and accommodative Federal Reserve have supported risk-taking investors by keeping the cost of money near zero. Very strong corporate earnings have rewarded investors by expanding the ‘E’ in the P/E ratio, justifying the market’s run upward. (more…)
Published July 16, 2021
The stock market is in the midst of a correction, a pullback in price. With broad market indexes hitting new highs, this assertion sounds clearly wrong. However, look under the surface of those indexes and most stocks are going nowhere, with a sizeable chunk of them declining. (more…)
Published May 21, 2021
Taking a step back this week to consider the broad market and the substantial changes that have been going on under the surface. At surface level, the broad market S&P 500 remains close to its all-time highs while our favored Nasdaq 100 index, heavy with tech and consumer stocks, has been choppy over the past four months.
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Published November 13, 2020
Markets this week delivered another burst of buying to the long-lagging value sectors of the market, notably the finance and energy sectors. The buying came on positive test results from a coronavirus vaccine. (more…)
Published September 25, 2020
After a summer spent surging higher on economy re-openings and optimism for growth, stocks have entered a typical September slump. While we could just chalk it up to typical pre-election caution, there are fundamental factors that have emerged to challenge the market perhaps more seriously than usual. (more…)
Published August 28, 2020
The article below from Delta Investment points to the gathering economic and market strength internationally. As noted before, a broader market is a stronger market. The more sectors and markets participate in the market’s rise, the better. For now, our favored Nasdaq index (QQQ) continues to lead the way, powered by the FANGMA trade. (more…)
Published August 21, 2020
As we head toward September and October, it’s worthwhile to remind ourselves that these months can be dangerous for stock investors. That’s particularly true in an election year. (more…)
Published July 24, 2020
We have mentioned recently the need for the stock market to expand its participation if the rally was to continue. Over the past couple of weeks this appears to be happening. See below a variety of sectors outside the usual FANGMA* tech/consumer complex that have been showing strength. This rotation is what fuels longer-term stock market rallies.
Published July 17, 2020
A few miscellaneous notes this week that describe the current market outlook, foggy though it be. Starting at the highest level with the wide range of earnings projections for the S&P 500. Currently, the S&P 500 index trades around 3200. If we look at the chart below, we see a 2021 earnings per share for the S&P 500 range of $135-170. At $135, the S&P 500 is trading at price-earnings ratio of 23, on the high end of “normal”.