U.S. equities fell last week (S&P 500 -1.4%) as the S&P 500 broke a five-week streak and the NASDAQ an eight-week streak of gains. Higher-for-longer Fed policy remains a key piece of the bearish narrative. Best sectors were healthcare (+0.2%) and consumer discretionary (-0.0%); worst sectors were real estate (-4.0%) and energy (-3.5%). Source: Bob Doll Crossmark Investments Chart reflects price changes, not total return. Because it does not include dividends or splits, it s… View More
Lately, it’s been easy to see the optimism. As of the Friday close, the S&P 500 is up 15% so far this year (not including dividends) and up 23% (again, without dividends) versus the lowest bear-market close back in October. Some investors attribute this to the Federal Reserve being very close to finished with the series of rate hikes that started back in March 2022. But that doesn’t really make sense. If investors thought the Fed were finished (or nearly finished) because it had tighten… View More
If the Federal Reserve were paying close attention to the money supply, it would know that monetary policy is now tight. Through April, the narrow M1 measure of money has fallen for thirteen straight months. The broader M2 measure of money has dropped nine months in a row and is down 4.6% from a year ago. M3, a broader measure of money that includes large CDs, is down 4.1% from the peak last July. Meanwhile, bank credit at commercial banks as well as their commercial and industrial loans are bot… View More
Historically, the movement in stock prices has had a stronger relationship with inflation and long-term interest rates than it has with the unemployment rate. Still, we are left with a simple question – can a new and durable economic cycle and market cycle begin when the economy is already starting at full employment? As the table below indicates, forward stock returns are better coming off peak unemployment rates rather than troughs. Still, forward returns off trough unemployment can be dece… View More
U.S. equities were mixed last week, with the S&P 500 slightly higher (+0.3%) though NASDAQ posted its second straight week up at least 2.5%, largely driven by AI optimism. Analysts have continued to warn of narrow breadth. Best sectors were technology (+5.1%) and communication services (+1.2%); worst sectors were consumer staples (-3.2%) and materials (-3.1%). The chart below shows just how narrow the market performance has been this year. Notice the sectors that performed the worst last ye… View More