The first three months of 2017 were characterized by high consumer confidence, a stream of good economic news, low volatility and strong market returns as investors followed the Trump administration’s rise to power. For the first quarter of 2017, the S&P 500 returned 6.07% and the FTSE All World Ex-US Index increased 7.92%. Though consumer [...]
The financial markets delivered positive returns in the first few months of the year, as investors watched Trump’s first 100 days and the Dow crossed 21,000 for the first time. For the month of February, the S&P 500 Index returned 3.97% while the FTSE All World Ex-Us Index increased 1.74%. Year-to-date through February 28th, the [...]
In the first month of the year, political headlines dominated as Trump began signing executive orders, and the Dow crossed the 20,000 mark for the first time. For the month of January, the S&P 500 Index returned 1.9% while the FTSE All Word Ex-Us Index returned 3.4%. Since his inauguration, President Trump signed executive orders [...]
2016 brought its share of surprises, from the Brexit vote and Donald Trump’s win, to the recent stock market rally. The beginning and ending to 2016 were characterized by an almost identical drop and rally. As the year began, investors feared a recession and deflation, and were uneasy over the Fed’s December 2015 rate hike. [...]
The Fed announced Wednesday that it raised rates by .25%, the first time in 2016 and the second time in the past decade. Read details here.
The month of November was characterized by a post-election rally as investors made sense of the election implications. For the month of November, the S&P 500 Index returned 3.7% while the FTSE All Word Ex-Us Index returned -2.32%. Markets were strong year-to-date through November 30th; the S&P 500 Index was up 9.79% and the FTSE [...]
President Elect Trump's surprise victory in the U.S. Presidential election caused volatility across the world markets. Stocks and the dollar fell on news of Trump’s victory by more than 5% in the futures market, though his consolatory acceptance speech seemed to erase these losses by the open of the New York Stock Exchange Wednesday morning. In [...]
Markets recovered well from the initial shock of the June Brexit vote, as lower bond yields, expectations of additional monetary accommodation, and stable global economic data eased investor concerns. For the third quarter, the S&P 500 was up 3.85% and the FTSE All World Ex-US Index was up 6.94%; year-to-date, the S&P 500 Index increased [...]
The month of August was characterized by low trading volume, low volatility and neutral returns from the S&P500 Index, though volume will likely pickup as traders, investors and policymakers return to work. For the month of August, the S&P 500 Index returned .14% while the FTSE All Word Ex-Us Index returned .56%. In contrast, markets [...]
The first half of the year was a bumpy and volatile ride, though the financial markets returned mostly positive results through June 30, 2016. Early in the year, the markets experienced significant volatility due to weak performance in China, a strengthening dollar and falling oil prices, which led Central Banks outside the U.S. to lower [...]
