Market moves across the month were to the south. Fixed income markets seemed to have a more drastic message on the monitor than that of equities.
Fixed Income: 2-Yr Treas Yield 4.16% | 10-Yr Treas. Yield 4.28%
Bond markets went for a reversal ride in October. After several months of falling rates, we began to see a pullback in the bond market as interest rates rose. The 2-year treasury rose 0.55%, while the 10-year treasury rose 0.54%. The good news is that while rising, the rates did not invert again. The long picture remains intact. We are still in an elevated rate environment with them more likely to drift south rather than north. This move may have been the result of predictions for a potential structure that would mean tariffs. This would reflect a higher inflation potential which would signal a slower path in future rate cuts. Additional good news is that while rates from 6 months on rose, shorter duration rates continued to fall. This bodes well for the normalization of the entire curve.
Equities: Dow Jones 1.34% | S&P 500 0.99% | NASDAQ 0.52%
While it was a down month for equites, the overall move south was not bad for the month. From the top of the market for the S&P 500 (10/18/2024) to the end of the month logged a 2.83%. This proved to be a mild lead up to the beginning of November. The nice part is that while a correction has not materialized, earnings season did, bringing the P/E ratio for the S&P 500 back down to 21.19.
Throughout the month utility stock did well until the last week of the month. A shifting towards Financial and consumer discretionary was underway. Neither of which are surprising given interest rates (favoring financials) and the fact that we are in the fourth quarter… I like to say, ‘Americans spend money they do not have on things they do not need’, AKA: holiday season!
Conclusion
Equities pulled back less than was indicative of the rate move on the bond market. The move there signaled more concern about higher rates for longer than equities chose to price in. The shift in rates seemed like a long-term change in projection, while short rates seemed anchored to FRB actions. The longer rage rates often can be equated to long range GDP expectations. If the view is that we would have stronger forward GDP in 5 years, then we see a stronger 5-year rate.
A Look Ahead…
Market responses in October could have been far more drastic than they were. We should feel fortunate that we got the October that we did. This still leaves a correction (a market fall of 10% to 19%) unattended to. The last one ended 10/27/2023. While stretched P/E’s from over the summer have become more reasonable, that’s been due to strong earnings. Those may continue in the short run, but moving into 2025 those might be harder to come by. It may very well cause a correction in the first half of the year.
~ Your Future… Our Services… Together! ~
Your interest in our articles helps us reach more people. To show your appreciation for this post, please “like” the article on one of the links below:
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
If you would like to receive this weekly article and other timely information follow us, here.
Always remember that while this is a week in review, this does not trigger or relate to trading activity on your account with Financial Future Services. Broad diversification across several asset classes with a long-term holding strategy is the best strategy in any market environment.
Any and all third-party posts or responses to this blog do not reflect the views of the firm and have not been reviewed by the firm for completeness or accuracy.
Markets retreated throughout April. Should we expect ‘Sell in May & Go Away’ or is there a reason for hope?
Monday S&P 500 0.02% | NASDAQ 0.14%
The trading week opened deep in the red. The week was expected to be weak as technology companies were reporting. The equity markets climbed throughout the day, but it was not enough to end in the green. Interestingly, the 10-year treasury retreated, lending to the climb in equity prices throughout the day.
Tuesday S&P 500 2.84% | NASDAQ 3.95%
Markets pushed lower curtesy of technology stocks. Safe haven bonds caught a bid on the day as interest rates fell in response to the broad equity sell-off. Markets are now near their lows from early March.
Wednesday S&P 500 0.21% | NASDAQ 0.01%
Equities attempted to gain on the day, but their momentum faded late in the day. Facebook was set to report earnings after hours and concerns may have caused late selling. The 10-year treasury rose 0.1% on the day (rates and price move in opposite directions).
Thursday S&P 500 2.47% | NASDAQ 3.06%
In a major course reversal of recent sessions, markets rose substantially on Thursday. The move came in spite of a surprise contraction in the US economy. GDP was expected to rise 1% and actually fell 1.4%. The market turn may have come as a weaker economy creates less reason for the Federal Reserve Bank (FRB) to be aggressive. The 10-year treasury remained fairly unchanged, which is the bond markets way of saying, not so fast. This indicates FRB moves should remain as previously expected.
Friday S&P 500 3.67% | NASDAQ 4.17%
Whelp, that was short lived. The rally from Thursday was completely erased on Friday as markets tumbled right from the open. Amazon earnings disappointed sourly and served up a sell off on Friday. AMZN alone fell over 14% on the day.
Conclusion S&P 500 3.27% | NASDAQ 3.93%
Markets successfully swept the month of April. All four weeks were down. The month opened with FRB minutes announcing quantitative tightening and markets did not need much else to start the retreat. One out of every five years (on average) we get a ‘Sell in May and Go Away’ where markets retreat. Could this be inverted as the first four months only saw one month of gains? Friday’s rout of markets may be reason to think so. The S&P and NASDAQ have revisited their February lows and Friday’s sell-off was broad and extended. Generally, that is the type of sell-off that sets a floor. Of course, the FRB meeting on the 4th could change all that. Some hope exists for a more dovish Fed given the lower GDP and softening core PCE (Inflation).
~ Your Future… Our Services… Together! ~
Your interest in our articles helps us reach more people. To show your appreciation for this post, please “like” the article on one of the links below:
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
If you would like to receive this weekly article and other timely information follow us, here.
Always remember that while this is a week in review, this does not trigger or relate to trading activity on your account with Financial Future Services. Broad diversification across several asset classes with a long-term holding strategy is the best strategy in any market environment.
Any and all third-party posts or responses to this blog do not reflect the views of the firm and have not been reviewed by the firm for completeness or accuracy.