ClientFirst Financial Strategies
Financial Planning and Portfolio Management
The three major US market indices have been down the past three weeks, for the most part, with the S&P 500 falling below its 50-day moving average. Yet it seems like just yesterday the indices were on a hot streak.
For the second week in a row, all three major US stock market indices were down. Wednesday’s Consumer Price Index report came in much hotter than anticipated and, seemingly, caused the market to drop precipitously.
Were those tremors you felt this past week from the US stock market or the quakes that hit New York and Taiwan? All three major US stock market indices posted losses.
This Sonny & Cher song title captures what’s been happening to the major US stock market indices. All three posted gains this week hitting new highs.
Do you know what a smidgen is? No, it’s not one of those scrabble words to get past your competition! It’s how much the three major US stock market indices decreased last week.
The S&P 500 currently trades at a price-to-earnings multiple of 22.82X trailing twelve-months earnings versus the historic average of 16X. Besides the AI revolution and resulting business efficiencies, the only other driver behind this stock market surge appears to be fear of missing out.
The three major US stock market indices produced a mixed bag of results for the week even though AAPL — a major index component — was down.
Talk about Fed interest rate cuts quieted this past week yet all three major US stock market indices rose. Both the S&P 500 and DJIA hit all-time highs as AI chipmaker Nvidia announced blowout earnings.
The US stock market has increased 14 of the past 15 weeks under the assumption that the Federal Reserve will start cutting interest rates soon. Well, not so fast! With the US economy and employment statistics holding strong, it appears that the Fed may keep interest rates higher for even longer.
The S&P 500 has posted gains 14 out of the last 15 weeks. Although that winning streak is not as long as the 27-game win streak by Wilt Chamberlain’s 1971 Los Angeles Lakers, it’s still pretty impressive!