-Darren Leavitt, CFA The holiday-shortened week saw the S&P 500 and Dow rise to new all-time highs.  Investors cheered the nomination of Scott Bessent as Treasury Secretary, who is seen as a fiscal hawk and someone who will support Trump’s trade policies.  US...

-Darren Leavitt, CFA Markets bounced back as investors reengaged the pro-growth Trump 2.0 trade.  President-elect Trump continued to fill out his cabinet and, late Friday announced Scott Bessent as his nominee for Treasury Secretary.  Wall Street has endorsed Bessent,...

-Darren Leavitt, CFA US equity markets pulled back last week as investors took profits from the outsized move higher seen following the US election. Sticky inflation prints, coupled with solid retail sales and hawkish comments from Federal Reserve Chairman J. Powell,...

-Darren Leavitt, CFA The S&P 500 notched its 50th all-time high of 2024 as investors piled into equities after a decisive US election.  Wall Street embraced the idea that President-Elect Trump would enact several pro-growth policies to bolster corporate profits. ...

-Darren Leavitt, CFA It was a very busy week on Wall Street as investors analyzed a deluge of corporate earnings reports and a full economic data calendar.  The S&P 500 traded lower for the second consecutive week and could not close out October with a gain,...

-Darren Leavitt, CFA Global markets pulled back last week as investors took the opportunity to reduce some risk before a very close US Presidential election. In the US, nearly 20% of the S&P 500 reported earnings. Generally, results came in better than expected;...

-Darren Leavitt, CFA The S&P 500 advanced for the sixth consecutive week, closing at a new record high. This week, a broadening out of the market’s rally was evident, with small caps and the equally weighted S&P 500 index outperforming. Markets also appear to...

-Darren Leavitt, CFA US equity markets posted a third week of gains as global central banks continued to cut monetary policy rates.  China, Switzerland, Mexico, Hungry, and the Czech Republic cut their policy rates.  Chinese markets gained on the news that several...

The S&P 500 notched its 39th record high in 2024 on the back of a fifty-basis-point rate cut by the Federal Reserve. Global central banks took center stage this week, with the Fed playing the headliner. Leading into the Fed’s decision, the street was divided over...