Market Review The benchmark S&P 500 index closed the 1st quarter down 4.6% to break a run of three consecutive quarterly gains. Index returns were modest but largely positive thru most of February, but events in the Middle East made for a saw-toothed downward path to the eventual quarterly return. Geopolitical events will likely dominate…

Market Review The benchmark S&P 500 index closed the 4th quarter up 2.3% to mark a third consecutive quarterly gain and take appreciation for the full year to 16.4%. That market movement tracks with earnings results continuing to top expectations and forecast to grow at a double-digit pace in 2026. Corporate earnings beat the consensus…

Market Review The benchmark S&P 500 index closed the 3rd quarter up 7.8% to mark a second consecutive quarterly gain and take year-to-date appreciation to 13.7%. That market movement contrasts with investor sentiment, as the market climbs a proverbial wall of worry. The news of note is that companies continue to report financial results that…

Market Review The benchmark S&P 500 index closed the 2nd quarter up 10.6% to move into positive territory year-to-date, following a 4.6% drop the prior three months. Investors can be forgiven for thinking that outcome would have been unlikely in early April, when the benchmark was down almost 15% for the year. News flow hasn’t…

Market Review What a roller coaster quarter! The benchmark S&P 500 index closed the 1st quarter down 4.6%, following a 2.1% gain the prior three months and after initially rising almost 4.5% to yet another all-time high in mid-February. After that high, the index then pulled back by over 10% before staging a solid bounce…

Market Review What a year…again! The benchmark S&P 500 index closed the 4th quarter up 2.1%, following on a 5.5% gain the prior three months and leaving the benchmark with a second-consecutive year of 20+% gains for only the sixth time since 1950. The index hit 57 new all-time closing highs in 2024, a mark only…

Market Review The benchmark S&P 500 index closed the 3rd quarter up 5.5%, following on a 3.9% gain the prior three months and leaving the benchmark tantalizingly close to a second-consecutive year of 20+% gains. The index has hit over 40 new all-time closing highs this year after passing the previous record from January, 2022,…

Market Review The benchmark S&P 500 index closed the 2nd quarter up 3.9%, following on the 10.1% gain through March and leaving the broader stock market on course for a welcome second-consecutive year of outsized gains. The index has hit over 30 new all-time closing highs this year after passing the previous record from January,…

Market Review The benchmark S&P 500 index closed the 1st quarter up 10.1% continuing its march upward after last October’s market low. While the 26%+ gain since October is noteworthy, the index is only up around 9% from the high in January, 2022. Corporate earnings beat analyst estimates by over 7% during the 4th quarter,…

Market Review The benchmark S&P 500 index closed the 4th quarter up 11.2% after surging relentlessly upward from lows in late October. For the year, the index will close up over 24%, marking a sharp contrast to performance in 2022, though both years exhibited an emphatic bullish turnaround at roughly the same point on the…