March 2024
Observations
Major U.S. equity indices closed the month of February on a positive note, with the Nasdaq and small-cap Russell 2000 leading the charge. Notably, the S&P 500 achieved a significant milestone by eclipsing the 5000 mark for the first time on February...
By: William “Billy” Little, Jr., CFA
February 2024
Observations
A page flipping on the calendar was not going to put a halt to the strength we saw in equities last year. Fresh off an impressive rally to close out the last two months of 2023, the S&P 500 and Nasdaq continued...
By: William “Billy” Little, Jr., CFA
January 2024
Observations
After an agonizing three-month stretch, from August to October, where U.S. equity markets corrected over 10% and bond yields surged, everything was made right again over the final two months of the year. All major U.S. indices closed higher in December with...
By: William “Billy” Little, Jr., CFA
December 2023
Observations
November was the month of the reversal in just about all things related to financial markets. Everything from financial asset performance to investor sentiment to economic indicators to Fed policy expectations ended up doing a complete 180 given their course over the...
By: William “Billy” Little, Jr., CFA
November 2023
Observations
October was just a continuation of a trend that began to really take hold at the end of July. Up until the time of this writing, the unabated move higher in long-term Treasury yields has rattled equity markets.
By: William “Billy” Little, Jr., CFA
October 2023
Observations
Last month, we briefly discussed seasonality as it relates to stock market performance during the months of August and September. Over the past 50 years, August and September have been the two worst months for both the S&P 500 & Nasdaq, and...
By: William “Billy” Little, Jr., CFA
September 2023
Observations
Seasonality caught up with equity markets again this year. Historically, the two weakest months of the year for equities are August and September.
By: William “Billy” Little, Jr., CFA
July 2023
Observations
After months of extremely narrow market leadership, strength in equities finally began to broaden out in June. It has been well publicized that much of the market’s advance this year has been driven by a handful of the largest technology focused companies,...
By: William “Billy” Little, Jr., CFA
June 2023
Observations
If you are coming out of May even more confused than before, you are likely not alone. Much of the year has been dominated by conflicting economic and market signals.
By: William “Billy” Little, Jr., CFA
May 2023
Observations
The month of April was marked by a dearth of volatility at the broad index level. The S&P 500 rose a modest 1.5%, while the Nasdaq was flat, and the Russell 2000 declined 2%.
By: William “Billy” Little, Jr., CFA
April 2023
Observations
After years of zero interest rate policy (ZIRP), cracks in the financial system began to emerge in early March. You would never know it by the positive performance seen in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq, as the large-cap indices climbed 3.51% and...
By: William “Billy” Little, Jr., CFA
March 2023
Observations
Interest rates and the future path of monetary policy was the theme of the month in February. As we’ve discussed numerous times since short-term rates began to rise off the zero bound in late 2021, the direction and speed of change in...
By: William “Billy” Little, Jr., CFA