The Fragreport covers markets, financial planning, culture & current affairs.
Markets got off to a rocky start this week as we witnessed significant declines across all major indices and all 11 sectors of the S&P 500 on Monday, September 20 (See Figures Below). The sell-off was prompted by worries of contagion fears over China’s real estate sector and persistent efforts by the government to increase regulatory pressure on various sectors of the economy.
In August, all three major averages notched new record highs. Investors scaled the wall of worry along the way, choosing to focus on a continued accommodative Federal Reserve and expectations that it would remain so into the foreseeable future. The major averages have recorded year-to-date gains of 21.57% for the S&P 500, 18.94% for the NASDAQ Composite and 17.04% for the Dow Jones Industrial Average.
Reflecting on market action during the first month of the new year is a method used by MCF Capital Management to develop an outlook for the entire year. January witnessed several interesting market events forming our cautious yet optimistic view of 2021.
Stocks sold-off on Monday as markets weighed spikes in COVID cases, stimulus gridlock in Congress, and a tightening race one-week ahead of the U.S. Elections. Equities booked their worst day since September as the Dow fell 650 points, the S&P fell by 1.9% and the Nasdaq Composite closed down 1.6%.
Last week financial markets witnessed a historic announcement on the future of monetary policy in the United States. We want to emphasize in this alert the significance of Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell’s speech on Thursday, August 27 at the annual Jackson Hole Symposium.
As a follow-up to Friday’s Market Commentary Alert, Reuters reported later in the evening that this weekend’s anticipated virtual meeting between US and Chinese trade officials was postponed. The meeting was cancelled due to scheduling conflicts allowing China more time to make purchases of US goods.
