Notes from the Trading Desk

Notes from the Trading Desk is our bi-monthly commentary that discusses current news and market observations.

November 27, 2023

The past weeks have seen a continuation of the market’s positive momentum, with the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite recording their fourth consecutive week of gains. Over the last month, the S&P 500 has advanced 10.20%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite have posted gains of 7.95% and 13.14%, respectively. Notably, small-cap stocks, which have trailed large-cap stocks by a historic margin this year, saw a significant boost in November. The Russell 2000 surged more than 5% in a single trading session on November 14th following a better-than-expected October inflation report.

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November 13, 2023


Since the last edition of Notes from the Trading Desk, the S&P 500 has showcased a remarkable display of resilience, recording a gain in nine out of the last ten trading sessions and achieving an impressive 7.2% increase over the past two weeks. The winning streak comes as the S&P 500 recaptured the 4,400 level and is back trading above its 50- and 200-day moving averages.

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October 2, 2023

Markets saw continued weakness in the last two weeks of September as long-term yields surged higher. Major U.S. averages closed lower during the period, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average falling 3.31%, the Nasdaq down 3.56%, and the S&P 500 slumping 3.64%.

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September 18, 2023

Markets were slightly lower through the first two weeks of September. Tech was the worst performing sector, which has led to some underperformance of the Nasdaq relative to its peers. The weakness within the Nasdaq has not been a total surprise.

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August 28, 2023

The last few weeks have been largely mixed for equities – though both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq recovered some of the month’s losses last week. Both major indices are in the middle of their worst months since December.

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June 26, 2023

Stocks were under pressure last week as the major U.S. equity indices gave back some of their recent gains. The S&P 500 broke a five-week winning streak, while the Nasdaq fell after eight straight weeks of gains.

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May 29, 2023

Large cap growth and tech’s outperformance of the broader market continued once more last week. According to FactSet, the NYSE FANG Index was up more than 5.5%. As tech outperformed, the Nasdaq gained more than 2.5% last week.

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