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Monthly Market Commentary | September 2021
“Raise your words, not your voice. It is rain that grows flowers, not thunder,” advised the Persian poet Rumi.
Last week, Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell’s words helped grow the week’s equity market returns. In his speech at the Economic Policy Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, Powell confirmed that the United States economy had made substantial progress toward the Fed’s maximum employment and price stability goals. Consequently, the Fed is likely to slow and eventually stop the bond purchases that have been ensuring smooth market functioning during the pandemic.
Powell also offered assurance that the target range for Federal funds rate, which is one of the Fed’s tools for influencing short-term interest rates, will remain unchanged until “…the economy reaches conditions consistent with maximum employment, and inflation has reached 2 percent and is on track to moderately exceed 2 percent for some time.
Investors were delighted by the Fed’s stance, as well as positive data on second quarter’s economic growth and corporate earnings. The Bureau of Economic Analysis reported that gross domestic product (GDP), which is the value of all goods and services produced in the United States, increased 6.6 percent from April through June. That was an improvement on the January to March quarter when the economy grew by 6.3 percent.
Corporate earnings, which reflect companies’ profits, were also strong during the second quarter. Companies had relatively easy year-over-year comparisons to 2020’s dismal second quarter and, with almost 98 percent of companies in the S&P 500 reporting in, earnings for companies in the S&P 500 are expected to be 95.4 percent higher, year-over-year, and 79.9 percent higher when the energy sector is excluded, reported Tajinder Dhillon and Thomas Alonso of Refinitiv.
Last week, the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index closed at a record high for the 52nd time in 2021, reported Lewis Krauskopf and Saqib Ahmed of Reuters. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite also finished the week higher, as did the yield on 10-year Treasuries.
What do you know about stock markets?
When people are financially literate, they have the knowledge and information necessary to make sound financial decisions. The 2020 TIAA Institute-Global Financial Literacy Excellence Center Personal Finance Index reported that more than half of U.S. adults understood borrowing, saving, earning and consuming, while less than half had a clear understanding of investing and risk.
One common type of investment is stock. The stock market is where stock is issued, purchased and sold. Stockholders have an ownership interest in a company. Test your knowledge of stocks by taking this brief quiz.
If you have any questions about the answers, let us know.
Think About It
“Keep your face always toward the sunshine – and shadows will fall behind you.”
— Walt Whitman, poet
Sources:
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/428038-raise-your-words-not-voice-it-is-rain-that-grows
https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/files/monetary20210728a1.pdf
https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/speech/powell20210827a.htm
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/f/federalfundsrate.asp
https://www.bea.gov/news/2021/gross-domestic-product-2nd-quarter-2021-second-estimate-corporate-profits-2nd-quarter
https://lipperalpha.refinitiv.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/TRPR_82221_608.pdf
https://www.reuters.com/business/wall-st-week-ahead-blazing-us-stock-rally-faces-markets-toughest-month-2021-08-27/
https://www.barrons.com/market-data?mod=BOL_TOPNAV (or go to https://resources.carsongroup.com/hubfs/WMC-Source/2021/08-30-21_Barrons_Overview_8.pdf)
https://www.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=yield
https://gflec.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/TIAA-Institute-GFLEC_2020-P-Fin-Index_April-2020.pdf?x20437
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/stockmarket.asp
https://www.goodreads.com/author/quotes/1438.Walt_Whitman
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/b/bullmarket.asp
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/s/shareholder.asp
https://www.investopedia.com/articles/active-trading/111114/preferred-stocks-versus-bonds-how-choose.asp
https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/correction.asp
https://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/012815/what-assets-are-most-risky-and-what-assets-are-safest.asp
https://www.upcounsel.com/why-do-corporations-issue-stock
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Securities and advisory services offered through EWA LLC dba Equilibrium Wealth Advisors (a SEC Registered Investment Advisor).
* Government bonds and Treasury Bills are guaranteed by the U.S. government as to the timely payment of principal and interest and, if held to maturity, offer a fixed rate of return and fixed principal value. However, the value of fund shares is not guaranteed and will fluctuate.
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