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So far Park-Elm has created 180 blog entries.

U.S. Performance Dashboard – February 2024

By | March 1st, 2024|Markets|

  • Markets shook off looming concerns over inflation and the Fed’s future rate trajectory with more record highs in February, driving the S&P 500® up 5%. With a consistent tailwind of interest in AI and generally better than expected Q4 earnings, mega caps continued to show strength with the S&P 500 Top 50 up 6%.
  • While small caps lagged, the rally began to broaden with mid caps slightly outpacing their large-cap counterparts, with the S&P MidCap 400® up 6%.
  • All sectors posted gains, led by Consumer Discretionary and Industrials.
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U.S. Performance Dashboard – January 2024

By | February 1st, 2024|Markets|

  • Despite a sharp drop on the final trading day of the month post Fed Chair Powell’s comments indicating rate cuts were not imminent, the S&P 500® rose 2% in January. The month was characterized by a series of record highs, driven by strength from the Magnificent 7, which propelled the mega-cap S&P 500 Top 50 up 3%.
  • Strong Q4 2023 economic data also dampened optimism that the Fed would be able to begin cutting rates as soon as March, reflected in the underperformance of smaller caps, with the S&P SmallCap 600® down 4%.
  • Sector performance was mixed, with gains led by Communication Services and Information Technology. Materials and Real Estate were among the laggards
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U.S. Performance Dashboard – December 2023

By | January 2nd, 2024|General, Markets|

  • After a dismal 2022, the market recovered with a vengeance in 2023. Closing out the year with nine consecutive weeks of gains, the S&P 500® finished with an impressive 26% return for the year. The relentless strength of the Magnificent Seven powered those gains throughout, pushing the mega-cap S&P 500 Top 50 up a stonking 38%.

 

  • Thanks to optimism that the Fed would be able to engineer a soft landing, overall market sentiment improved drastically in the last two months of the year. This broadened the rally, with the S&P MidCap 400® and S&P SmallCap 600® both rising 16% for 2023.

 

  • Most sectors posted gains, led by Information Technology, up an astounding 58%, with Communication Services close behind, up 56%.

 

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U.S. Performance Dashboard – November 2023

By | December 4th, 2023|Markets|

  • Optimism returned to the market with a vengeance in November, as cooling inflation readings raised expectations for future Fed rate cuts, boosting U.S. equities, with the S&P 500® up 9% in November.
  • With the exception of Energy, all sectors posted gains, led by Information Technology, up a staggering 13%.
  • Consistent with the upbeat market sentiment, High Beta and Momentum led among factor indices, while their defensive counterparts Dividend Aristocrats and Low Volatility unsurprisingly lagged.dashboard-us-2023-11

U.S. Performance Dashboard – October 2023

By | November 1st, 2023|Markets|

  • Despite strong economic growth, the market malaise continued, as mixed earnings results, surging Treasury yields, geopolitical tensions, as well as uncertainty surrounding the Fed’s future rate trajectory spooked U.S. equities, with the S&P 500® down 2% in October.
  • Continued concerns around an impending recession were detrimental to the more domestically oriented S&P MidCap 400® and S&P SmallCap 600®, down 5% and 6%, respectively, underperforming their large-cap counterpart.
  • Utilities was the sole sector to post a gain in October. Consistent with the risk-off sentiment observed within sectors, Low Volatility led among our reported factor indices.
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U.S. Performance Dashboard – September 2023

By | October 5th, 2023|Markets|

  • As 10-year Treasury yields rose to a 15-year high, the U.S. market rally fizzled, with the S&P 500® down 3% in Q3.
  • Pessimism amid renewed inflation concerns coupled with worries about the Fed’s hawkish guidance saw the more domestically oriented S&P SmallCap 600® underperform, down 5%.
  • Energy maintained its spot at the top of the leaderboard and was the sole sector to post a double-digit gain, propelled by rising oil prices.
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U.S. Performance Dashboard – August 2023

By | September 5th, 2023|General, Markets|

  • Despite a strong recovery in the latter part of the month, the U.S. market rally took a breather in August, with the S&P 500® down 2%, as inflation concerns coupled with uncertainty around the future trajectory of rate hikes reared their head again. Smaller caps performed even worse, with the S&P SmallCap 600® down 4%.
  • Energy maintained its spot at the top of the leaderboard and was the sole sector to post a gain.
  • Momentum led among our reported factor indices, and in a sign of defense, Quality was in second place. Meanwhile, Low Volatility recovered, performing relatively better compared to High Beta, which was the laggard.

 

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U.S. Performance Dashboard – July 2023

By | August 2nd, 2023|Markets|

  • Powered by optimism surrounding softening inflation alongside strong earnings from Big Tech, the U.S. market rally gained steam in July, with the S&P 500® up 3%. The breadth of the market continued to widen as a result of small-cap momentum, with the S&P SmallCap 600 outperforming the S&P 500® Top 50 by 2%.
  • All of our reported factor indices posted gains, led by Enhanced Value, up 6%. High Beta continued to trounce Low Volatility, a sign of sustained risk-on sentiment.
  • All sectors posted gains, led by Energy, which staged a strong reversal from the prior quarter’s losses.

 

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Quarterly Market Review – Q2 2023

By | July 13th, 2023|Markets, Quarterly Market Review|

This report features world capital market performance and a timeline of events for the past quarter. It begins with a global overview, then features the returns of stock and bond asset classes in the US and international markets.

The report also illustrates the impact of globally diversified portfolios and features a quarterly topic. ” Let the Compounding Commence!”

 

Click HERE to download this quarter’s breakdown!

U.S. Performance Dashboard – June 2023

By | July 3rd, 2023|Markets|

  • Concerns around economic fundamentals and uncertainty around the Fed’s future rate trajectory did not deter U.S. equities from posting gains across the board in the second quarter, with the S&P 500® completing its best first half since 2019, up 17% YTD. Led by mega-cap strength, the S&P 500 Top 50 was up 13% in Q2, outpacing smaller caps, which have recently made a comeback in June.
  • In a sign of strong risk-on sentiment, Growth and High Beta led the pack for our factor-based indices, while Low Volatility and High Yield Dividend strategies lagged.
  • Information Technology led among sectors with an impressive gain of 17% in Q2, while Utilities was the laggard.
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