The markets took back some of those gains from last week!
With the election around the corner as of 11-4 and the Fed reporting their continued plans for interest rate hikes, the market remains uncertain which direction to move. The Fed increased rates by an additional 75 basis points and released comments indicating their intent to continue an aggressive approach to stomp out inflation into 2023! The market reacted negatively, sending prices downward.
Another factor in play was the approaching midterm elections. We always emphasize that markets are generally apolitical; they just don’t like uncertainty! This election loomed large as any, leaving a big question mark on policy direction over the next two years. As the dust settles on the outcome for congress, one way or the other, we expect the markets will move on and potentially trend upward.
Looking at the benchmark indexes we track this week, there were still a handful of asset classes in the green. Commodities (with 5.96% gains) and Emerging Markets (with 3.29% gains) were the two biggest winners of the week. Our Foreign Stocks rounded out the rest of the asset classes that finished in the green. We saw all U.S. equities give back a large portion of the gains from the previous week.
Let’s hope with eventual clarity following the midterm elections, we’ll see the market move on and return to more positive trend!
Have a great weekend!
All performance reported in the graph and performance references are from the following index list: DJ Industrial Average TR USD, S&P 500 TR, DJ US TSM Large Cap Growth TR USD, NASDAQ 100, Technology NTTR TR USD, DJ US Health Care TR USD, DJ US TSM Large Cap Value TR USD, DJ US TSM Mid Cap Growth TR USD, DJ US TSM Mid Cap Value TR USD, DJ US TSM Small Cap Growth TR USD, DJ US TSM Small Cap Value TR USD, FTSE NAREIT All Equity REITs TR, DJ Gbl Ex US Select REIT TR USD, Bloomberg Commodity TR USD, MSCI EAFE NR USD, MSCI EAFE Growth NR USD, MSCI EAFE Value NR USD, MSCI EAFE Small Cap NR USD, MSCI EM NR USD, BBgBarc US Corporate High Yield TR USD, FTSE WGBI NonUSD USD, JPM EMBI Plus TR USD, BBgBarc US Govt 1-3 Yr TR USD, ICE BoafAML 1-3Y US Corp TR USD, BBgBarc Intermediate Treasury TR USD, BBgBarc Interm Corp TR, BBgBarc US Treasury US TIPS TR USD. This material has been prepared solely for informational purposes based upon data generally available to the public from sources believed to be reliable. All performance reporting is for indexes, not specific securities. Performance of specific securities will vary from indexes. Past performance is not an assurance of future results. Indexes cited are provided to illustrate market trends for certain asset classes. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Indexes do not reflect individual investor costs of trading, expense ratios & advisory or other fees