JP Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon caused a stir lately when he talked about a "hurricane" hitting the US economy. We think he may eventually be right, but is way too early. The employment report for May confirmed that the US economy continues to grow. Both major measures of jobs went up in May: nonfarm payrolls rose 390,000, while civilian employment increased 321,000. Total hours worked expanded 0.3%. Has a recession already started? Certainly not. Notably, there is some evidence of a transition in t… View More
Stocks were sharply higher (S&P 500 +6.6%), breaking the multi-week downward trend. As we covered in recent weeks, stocks rallied on a large oversold condition and extremely negative sentiment. The best sectors were consumer discretionary (+9.3%), energy (+8.2%), technology (+8.1%), and financials (+8.1%); the worst sectors were healthcare (+3.3%) and communication services (+3.6%). What we’ve found notable about the market’s rally over the last week is that it hasn’t put any dent in … View More
U.S. equities fell (-3.0% for the S&P 500) for the seventh straight week. The DJIA fell for the eighth week in a row, the longest losing streak since 1923. The S&P 500 briefly dipped into 20+% decline territory, the traditional definition of a bear market. Multiple bearish themes dominated the dialogue. Three sectors were up for the week: energy (+1.4%), healthcare (+0.9%), and utilities (+0.4%); worst sectors were consumer staples (-8.6%) and consumer discretionary (-7.4%). The Federal… View More
U.S. equities were lower last week (S&P 500 -2.4%) for the sixth straight week (the longest stretch in over ten years). During the midweek selloff, the S&P 500 hit the lowest point since March 2021 and the NASDAQ since November 2020. The bearish case for equities focused on monetary tightening, persistent inflation, China COVID lockdowns, recession fears, and extended valuations. The only positive sector for the week was consumer staples (+0.3%); the worst sectors were REITs (-3.9%) and … View More
Equities fell last week with the S&P 500 down 0.2%, masking a huge rally on Wednesday and a big decline on Thursday. This was the fifth straight week of equity market decline. Equities fell due to headwinds from a continued back-up in yields (10-year yields were up 24 basis points). Best sectors were energy (+10.2%) and utilities (+1.3%); worst sectors were REITs (-3.8%) and consumer discretionary (-3.4%). 1Q Earnings Season In Line With Historical Average; Outlooks More Worrisome With mo… View More