New Highs 2019 is shaping up as a very solid year for investors, following the losses incurred in 2018. Nearly all risk asset classes are up nicely for the year. U.S. stocks continue to add to their recent momentum, breaking out to the upside and setting new highs. Driving the bulk of the...
Breaking Out With two months left in the calendar year, it has been a solid time for the financial markets so far. U.S. stocks have broken out to the upside to set new highs. Recent strength has come on increased hopes for a signed “phase one” trade deal by year-end, the Fed’s accommodative...
Upwards Momentum Despite an uptick in volatility amid the impasse in trade talks and mixed economic data, US equities registered their third straight quarterly gain, adding further to the solid start from the first half of the year. US-China Trade Relations Trade negotiations between US and...
A Turbulent August Stocks posted only their second negative monthly performance for the year, as rising trade tensions between the US and China soured market sentiment. Weak global manufacturing data, as well as the inversion of the 10-year and 2-year Treasury yield curve, added to concerns....
A Positive July for US Markets Markets had a solid start to the third quarter, with US stock indices showing gains for July. Better-than-expected earnings supported the positive performance. Overseas markets pulled back slightly, however, over concerns for slowing global trade. Fixed income had...
V-Shaped Reversal. Equites traded higher across the globe in June, recapturing most of their losses suffered just the month prior. S. markets once again touched all-time highs amid rising prospects of a Federal Reserve rate cut, and hopes for a trade de-escalation between U.S. and China...
Volatility Returns. The solid start to the year has paused, as investors’ mood turned negative toward risk assets in May. A deteriorating macro outlook, owing to the trade war and related growth anxieties, drove downward pressures. The S&P 500 retreated roughly 6% during...
Momentum Continues The solid start to the year extended through April. The S&P 500 rang in its fourth consecutive month of positive returns, closing out another strong month for risk assets both here and abroad. Almost without exception, equity markets have recovered their losses from the...
Boeing shares are widely held among Ascent portfolios, most notably in our dividend-focused investment strategy. They have been under pressure for the last month, following the crash of an Ethiopian Air flight using Boeing’s 737 Max 8 variant. This crash is the second in seven months with this...
Strong Q1 Equity markets snapped back from their late 2018 market decline to post impressive gains in the first quarter of 2019. Strength was largely driven by easing concerns over the China-US trade dispute, accompanied by an increasingly dovish lt among central banks around the world. Notable...