Stocks continued to rally last week following the first round of France’s presidential elections. Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron emerged as the favorite to win the May 7th run off vote against far-right candidate Marine Le Pen; the latest polls show Mr. Macron, a political neophyte, leading with 60% of the vote. The two offer starkly contrasting visions for France and, by extension, the future of Europe. Mr. Macron’s candidacy has been cast, especially in light of ongoing Brexit ne… View More
Earnings are expected to come in well ahead of last year's numbers, despite a couple of notable misses this week (GS, IBM). Weak growth in 1Q16 provides an easy comp and improved nominal growth provides an additional boost for companies to report high single digit to low double digit Y/Y growth rates. S&P 500 earnings are expected to rise 10.8% Y/Y. It is worth noting the double anniversary effect of Energy sector earnings weakness, which will mitigate the lift to earnings. S&P profi… View More
With the United States and many global markets closed for Good Friday, stocks ended the short trading week lower. Trading volumes were low for much of the week, as investors may be concerned with rising tensions overseas in Syria and North Korea, and the continuation of strained diplomatic relations with Russia. Of the indexes listed here, only the Dow's losses were under 1.0%. On the other hand, the Russell 2000 and Nasdaq suffered the largest dips, falling 1.42% and 1.24% respectively. The pri… View More
Markets last week varied from unchanged (for the Dow Jones Industrial Average) to modest, or more significant, declines for the S&P 500® Index, the NASDAQ and the Russell 2000® Index, respectively. The mixed results followed the midweek release of the Federal Reserve’s March meeting minutes. Discussions among Fed officials on the gradual unwinding of bond holdings, a process known as “balance sheet normalization,” unsettled investors. Most members of the monetary policy committee a… View More
Markets rose this week on the prospects for tax reform and rising oil prices. Small cap stocks, which have lagged year-to-date, led the gains; the outperformance of these more aggressive stocks suggests that investor confidence is regaining momentum. Meanwhile, the S&P 500® Index, which is dominated by large companies, ended the quarter with its best performance since the fourth quarter of 2015. Apparently, market sentiment has quickly moved past last week’s failed effort at health care r… View More