From the desks of Stanley Katz & Lauren Madera
WISHING YOU A DOSE OF LUCK ON ST. PATRICK’S DAY!
The three major U.S. stock market indices tumbled last week (i.e., DJIA: -3.07%, S&P 500: -2.27%, Nasdaq: -2.43%) over concerns about a potential U.S. economic recession. Unpredictable tariff policy has emerged as a significant stressor for markets and caused consumers to rush purchases before higher tariffs kick in. In addition, job-cut announcements soared to nearly 173,000 in February, a new high for the current cycle. Against this backdrop, investors sought safety in U.S. Treasuries and more defensive sectors of the stock market. Interestingly, economic data has exceeded expectations in Europe, leading European markets to outperform their American counterparts.
Market leadership continues to rotate away from traditional growth sectors (like Information Technology, Communication Services, and Consumer Discretionary) toward defensive, interest-rate-sensitive, and cyclical sectors (like Healthcare, Consumer Staples, and Utilities). This rotation, which began in 2024, has intensified in 2025 with rising market anxiety. Despite the current turbulence, Argus Research believes the U.S. economy has enough strength and flexibility to withstand some disruption, projecting continued growth in the low-2% range with stable unemployment. However, if growth sectors don’t lead the market in 2025, can the S&P 500 achieve double-digit gains for a third consecutive year?
Below are links to a number of third-party research reports that we have read and analyzed over the past week. We hope you will find the information interesting, useful, and worthwhile.
Schwab:
Argus:
Capital Group:
BlackRock:
J.P. Morgan Asset Management:
Stanley Katz & Lauren Madera, Financial Advisors
ClientFirst Financial Strategies, Inc.
937-293-5500
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