03|02|2021

Good & Bad | February 26, 2021

Markets grew for the week for the first time in a month. Is it a reason to celebrate or a breather in the pullback?

Monday                      S&P 500 0.87% | NASDAQ 1.11%

Nine major companies reported earnings, with two missing expectations. Equities jumped to open the week. Outside of earnings data there was not much to support the rally. It was likely a jump on three consecutive weeks of down market, creating better by opportunities.

Tuesday                       S&P 500 1.20% | NASDAQ 1.59%

35 major companies reported earnings, with five missing expectations. Housing data came in better than expected. The heavy earnings data drove markets higher on Tuesday, pun intended. GM (GM) and Tesla (TSLA) were among reporters that helped propel markets.

Wednesday                 S&P 500 0.02% | NASDAQ 0.10%

40 major companies reported earnings, with six missing expectations. Core durable goods orders came in lighter than expected. Strong earnings data was counter-balanced by higher rate expectations. This left markets fairly unchanged.

Thursday                     S&P 500 0.46% | NASDAQ 0.64%

60 major companies reported earnings, with 13 missing expectations. GDP grew at a much slower pace than expected(1.6% vs 2.5%). Unemployment data continued to show strength. GDP and forward guidance from Meta (META) spooked markets early. They managed to climb halfway out of the hole that was dug as the earnings flowed in throughout the day.

Friday                          S&P 500 1.02% | NASDAQ 2.03%

13 major companies reported earnings, with five missing expectations. Consumer sentiment softened in April. Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) held steady at 2.8% in March. This is the Federal Reserve Board’s (FRB) preferred gauge of inflation. Between PCE data and earnings from Alphabet (GOOG) and Microsoft (MSFT) markets surged on the day.

Conclusion                  S&P 500 2.67% | NASDAQ 4.23%

The markets experienced a strong bounce back this last week in comparison to the last three weeks. Do not be fooled. Markets have a way to go to recapture highs as the growth did not even recover from the prior week. This indicates that there is room for markets to continue the run up as earnings season wears on. There are major hurdles this coming week with the FRB meeting, Jobs data, and Apple (AAPL) reports earnings.

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Monday

Rotation, rotation, rotation. Markets fell Monday led by the NASDAQ. The gainers for the day were financials, commodities, and specifically energy. The move is indicative of rising inflationary expectations.

Tuesday

The start of trading on Tuesday looked much like Monday as markets opened deep in the red. Technology shares led the market lower once again. The move, however, did not last. The S&P 500 erased all of its losses for the day to end the day up 0.13%. The NASDAQ was not as lucky as it still fell 0.5%. This further advanced the value vs. growth trade.

Wednesday

Markets on Wednesday shrugged off the recent woes and steamed to a strong close. The S&P 500 rising 1.14% out pacing the NASDAQ at 0.99%. Much of this came following Federal Reserve Chair comments affirming loose monetary policy well into the next economic expansion.

Thursday

The day started bad and just kept getting worse. The S&P 500 tumbled 2.45% and the NASDAQ tumbled 3.52%. This was happening as interest rates continued to rise in anticipation of inflation later this year. This inflationary expectation is nothing new. The economy is improving quicker than expected and appears to be spooking the markets.

Friday

The S&P moved between positive and negative territory all day. Settling 0.48% lower. This was not much of a rebound statement after the tumble markets took Thursday. The reflation trade that calls for strong growth later this year is concerning in the credit markets. The burden that debt will have on corporate balance sheets as rates rise could cause concerning pressure on earnings.

Conclusion

Last week was a rough one for the markets. The S&P 500 lost 2.45% and the NASDAQ fell 4.92%. The losses last week reflect concerns that the economy will grow too fast. As consumption ramps up, inflation becomes more of a risk. That inflation will likely lead to a steeper yield curve causing adjustable-rate debt to increase interest obligations on corporate balance sheets. This increased debt obligation is feared to cut into corporate profits in the future. In this way too much growth can be a bad thing… Kind of…

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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.