Mega-cap stocks, which have outlier market capitalizations and are often referred to as ‘the generals,’ have made an impressive comeback this year.
Weekly Market Commentary
Will History Rhyme? A Fed Pause Has Been Good For Fixed Income | Weekly Market Commentary | May 22, 2023
LPL’s Strategic and Tactical Asset Allocation Committee (STAAC) recommends investors maintain a neutral duration relative to benchmarks with the expectation that Treasury yields are likely headed lower (or at least not much higher) over the next few quarters.
Earnings Update: Better Than Feared Undersells These Results | Weekly Market Commentary | May 15, 2023
There’s plenty to worry about the rest of the year (debt limit, recession, tightening financial conditions, a Federal Reserve (Fed) policy mistake, among them), but the risk of an additional sharp contraction in profit margins has come way down.
King Dollar Still Rules | Weekly Market Commentary | May 8, 2023
Much has been written lately about the threats facing the reserve currency status enjoyed by the U.S. dollar. “De-dollarization” headlines appear on a near-daily basis, suggesting the dollar’s reign is in looming jeopardy…
Sell in May? | Weekly Market Commentary | May 1, 2023
“Sell in May and go away” is probably the most widely cited stock market cliché in history. Every year a barrage of Wall Street commentaries and stories in the financial press floods in about this popular, but overused, stock market adage. Here we take our annual look at this historical seasonal pattern which, as you will see below, has started to lose some of its street cred recently.
Draining the Lifeblood of the Economy | Weekly Market Commentary | April 24, 2023
Investors use various analogies to describe the importance of small businesses in the domestic economy. Some refer to the small business sector as the backbone or the lifeblood of the economy. At this current stage of the cycle, we could say there are rising risks of an acute backache or a draining of that lifeblood. In this edition of the Weekly Market Commentary, we discuss the weakness in small businesses and what that foreshadows in the markets and the economy.
A Closer Look at Commercial Real Estate | Weekly Market Commentary | April 17, 2023
The commercial real estate (CRE) market has recently captured the spotlight after being flagged as the next potential shoe to drop following last month’s banking turmoil. While rising rates have weighed on financing costs and the recent bank failures will make lending more restrictive, the post-pandemic world has produced structural changes that will likely weigh on the sector, especially within the retail and office segments. Banks, especially smaller cap regionals, are most exposed to CRE if credit cracks continue to widen.
Earnings Preview-Malaise Continues | Weekly Market Commentary | April 10, 2023
First quarter earnings season kicks off this week with some big banks reporting toward the end of the week. In some ways this quarter’s earnings season will probably be déjà vu all over again—earnings declines and cautious guidance, reductions in estimates, but better than feared.
Who is Right, Fed or Markets? | Weekly Market Commentary | April 3, 2023
The Federal Reserve (Fed) has reiterated its plan to raise rates at least one more time and keep rates elevated for the rest of 2023.
The 36-Hour SVB Collapse and Hierarchy of Blame | Weekly Market Commentary | March 27, 2023
The rapid collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), followed by continued pressure on regional banks, along with headlines surrounding the struggle to shore up confidence in First Republic Bank (FRC), has the market on alert for other potentially vulnerable banks.