2nd Quarter 2016 Markets Psychologically, the second quarter of 2016 was mired in uncertainty due to the coming British referendum on remaining in the European Union (EU). In spite of the global shock of UK’s decision to leave the EU, the quarter ended with global markets retracing much of their declines. Domestic equities ended mostly positive for both the quarter and t ...
Market Perspectives
Q1 2016: "A White Knuckle Ride"
1st Quarter 2016 Markets Domestic equities were mostly flat for the quarter. The S&P 500 gained 0.8%, the Dow Jones gained 1.5%, and the NASDAQ lost 2.8%. The U.S. small cap Russell 2000 index lost 1.9%. Domestic bond markets were stable for the quarter; Barclay’s Aggregate Bond Index gained 3.0%. The dollar was down 4.2% to the euro and 6.6% to the Japanese yen. C ...
Q4 2015: "Liftoff"
4th Quarter 2015 Markets Domestic equities were positive for the quarter but mostly flat for the year. In the quarter the S&P 500 gained 4.8%, the Dow Jones Industrials 5.8% and the NASDAQ 6.4%. Year to date the S&P went down by 0.7%, Dow declined by 2.2% but the NASDAQ was up nearly 5.7%. U.S. small caps underperformed large caps; the Russell 2000 index gained ...
Q3 2015: "China and the Fed"
3rd Quarter 2015 Markets The third quarter of 2015 was marked by significant losses in capital values and an increase in volatility. The S&P 500 lost 7.55% in the quarter and 6.71% year-to-date; NASDAQ dropped 7.77% quarterly and 2.26% for the year; Dow Jones Industrial average declined 8.15% in the quarter and 8.68% year-to-date. The VIX fear measure closed the quar ...
Q2 2015: "A Greek Play"
2nd Quarter 2015 Markets The second quarter of 2015 experienced heightened bond market volatility in anticipation of the Fed’s first rate increase as well as international equity volatility involving Greek debt and Chinese equities. Despite whipsawed volatility, the major domestic and international equity indices ended close to where they started. The Dow was down 0.9%, ...
Q4 2014: "Oil, Currencies, and the Fed"
4th Quarter 2014 Markets Fourth quarter headlines included volatility spikes, dramatic declines in oil prices, and positive views of the economy by the Fed. Oil declined 41% this quarter and 46% for the year. The dollar continued to gain against some major developed global currencies. For the year, the dollar gained 13.6% against the euro and 13.8% against the yen whil ...
Q3 2014: "Nervous Investors, Choppy Markets"
3rd Quarter 2014 Markets It was a choppy third quarter for global asset classes. Domestically, Large Cap equities rose slightly but Small Cap US stocks fell. The Dow rose 0.6%, the S&P rose 1.3%, and the NASDAQ rose 1.9%, but the Russell 2000 fell 7.7%. International equities, on average, fell for the quarter with the MSCI ACWI ex US down 6%. European equities decl ...
Q2 2014: "Slow But Steady Growth"
2nd Quarter 2014 Markets In the second quarter of 2014 major asset class performance was positive. The Dow was up 2.4%, the S&P up 4.7%, and the NASDAQ up 5%. International equities nearly kept pace with US equities; the MSCI ACWI ex US was up 3.8%. MSCI Europe was up 1.9%, and MSCI Pacific was up 5.2%. Emerging market equity indices rebounded from recent underpe ...
Q1 2014: "On Cruise Control"
1st Quarter 2014 Markets The first quarter was a relatively calm start to the year. The Dow was down 0.7%, the S&P up 1.3%, and the NASDAQ up 0.5%. International equities were nearly flat as well with the MSCI ACWI ex US down 0.1%. European equities were up 1.5% and Pacific equities were moderately negative, with the MSCI Pacific down 3.3% for the quarter. Emergi ...