Markets Finish October Strong!

Technology led the charge last week, despite Apple and Amazon missing their profit estimates for the 3rd quarter.  For the week, the Nasdaq composite rose 2.72%, the S&P 500 1.35%, the Dow Jones .40% and the Russell 2000 .27%.

Over the pond, stocks didn’t fare so well, with foreign stocks dropping (.10%) and emerging market stocks down (2.18%).

Bond yields remain in a trading range with the 10-Year finishing the week with a yield of 1.56%.  Shorter term rates are rising faster than longer dated rates, which is worth watching.

2 Months Left!

Wow, 2 months until we welcome 2022!  Not to be redundant, however time sure does move quickly.  Hopefully everyone is able to slow down and enjoy life!

GDP for the 3rd quarter was announced last week, coming in at 2%.  Keep in mind, this number will be revised 2 more times, as data becomes more available from late August and September.  The 2% is being blamed on supply constraints, limiting purchases by consumers and businesses.  Certainly doesn’t seem that way!

This week we’ll hear the Fed, most likely to announce the start of reducing the amount of monthly bond purchases from $120 billion per month.  The timeline and verbiage used will impact the markets one way or another.

This Friday we’ll hear the jobs report for the month of October.  I wonder if the Fed is aware of the data prior to Friday?  We certainly know American Airlines, restaurants, brick and mortar retail, and many other industries are desperate for workers.

Also possible this week, the House will vote on the 2 pending bills in Congress that will certainly shape tax policy for a few years forward.  The media’s focus is what will pass impacting billionaires!  The real impact will be on upper tax brackets, placing many small business owners in the same bracket as billionaires.

November and December historically are good months for the stock market. Since 1980, November has an average gain of 1.93% and December has an average gain of 1.3%.  I will be surprised if the markets don’t move higher between now and year end as momentum and inflows are very positive.

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