Common Cents

by | Feb 4, 2021 | WWC WorthWhile Reading

Last Week…

 

… definitely ended on down note

 

*Please note. You may have noticed we have started using a new chart along with this report. For the more nerdy types that would like a visual of our chart, here’s a small example of how to read what you are looking at.

  • US LG – US Large Growth
  • US LV – US Large Value
  • US MG – US Mid Growth
  • US MV – US Mid Value
  • US SG – US Small Growth
  • US SV – US Small Value
  • US REITS – US Real Estate Investment Trusts
  • Foreign-Growth
  • Foreign-Value
  • Foreign-Small
  • EM – Emerging Markets
  • (specific benchmarks listed in disclaimer)

Despite this, Economic indicators are still looking good on the whole – worrisome signs remain, yet the market is weighing other REALLY strong areas.

  • US Healthcare slipped the least -2.14%
  • US Mid Growth fell furthest -5.63%
  • US REITS gave up -0.71% – and now just barely in the negative.
  • Global REITS moved ahead +0.87% but, remain slightly in the negative as well YTD
  • Commodities rose another +1.26% and are now positive for the 1,2 and 5 year average trailing return!

 

Foreign markets were down about the same as US

  • Emerging Markets fell -4.82% but are still up 3.07% YTD

 

Bonds remain too boring to bother with this week.

 

There was a lot of market volatility last week. We believe most of this reflects sensitivity to the drama with Gamestop and the Robinhood stock spectacle. When unexpected incidents like this occur it can unnerve investors about the direction the market is moving. The dramatic attention on a handful of stocks apparently distracted investors from what the better-than-forecast 4th Quarter 2020 corporate earnings report. The decline for S&P 500 earnings for the last quarter of 2020 from the previous year came in at less than 5%. The expected decline was for double that decline. It also looks like first quarter corporate earnings for this year will beat forecasts as well. Analysts believe earnings recovery is very important to market valuation. The “short story” here is the GameStop news served as  distraction to investors from otherwise very positive market fundamentals.

 

Have a great weekend!

 

Indexes are listed in respective order to their reference above: 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. These materials have been prepared solely for informational purposes based upon data generally available to the public from sources believed to be reliable. All performance references are to benchmark indexes. Performance of specific funds will vary from respective benchmarks. Past performance is not an assurance of future results. Each index cited is provided to illustrate market trends for various asset classes. It is not possible to invest directly in an index. Neither do Indexes reflect individual investor costs, e.g. trading, expense ratios & potential advisory fee.