The Markets (as of market close February 18, 2022) Last week, Wall Street reacted to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict by moving from stocks to bonds, the dollar, and gold. Investors were faced with rising fears that a Russian invasion of the Ukraine will engulf Europe and the United States, worsen global supply bottlenecks, and further [...]
The Markets (as of market close February 26, 2021) Stocks opened last week mixed to lower. Only the Dow (0.1%) and the Global Dow (0.2%) were able to eke out minimal gains. The Nasdaq plunged 2.5% amid a tech sell-off. The S&P 500 fell for the fifth straight session, dropping 0.8%, and the Russell 2000 [...]
The Markets (as of market close August 31, 2020) The positive run for stocks continued in August as the major market indexes regularly reached all-time highs. While investors remained bullish toward equities, it wasn't always clear why. Although the economy is gradually picking up steam, it has a ways to go to reach its pre-pandemic [...]
The Markets (as of market close September 4, 2020) Stocks sagged last Monday, but not enough to dampen a banner month of returns in August. Only the Nasdaq pushed ahead to start the week as the remaining benchmark indexes lost value. Crude oil prices, Treasury yields, and the dollar all declined. Last Tuesday marked the [...]
The Markets (as of market close April 30, 2020) April began on a sour note for stocks as each of the indexes listed here lost value. Economic reports reflected the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. There were more than 700,000 jobs lost in March while total claims for unemployment insurance benefits soared to nearly [...]
The Markets (first quarter through March 31, 2020) The world's economies and stock markets have been rocked by the spread of COVID-19. Investors' fears prompted a major sell-off in February and March, plunging stocks well below their 2019 closing marks. Nevertheless, 2020 started off in a positive way. Following a strong 2019, stocks were slow [...]
The Markets (as of market close July 5, 2019) Last week, June's labor report was strong enough to likely prompt the Fed to hold interest rates at their current level (and forestall a rate cut). Feeding off the latest labor figures, stocks pushed ahead during the holiday-shortened week as each of the benchmark indexes listed [...]
The Markets (as of market close April 5, 2019) Stocks marked a second consecutive week of solid gains, led by the small caps of the Russell 2000 and the tech-heavy Nasdaq. The S&P 500 recorded seven consecutive days of gains through last Friday — the longest such streak since 2017. Once again, investors heard positive [...]
