Market Commentary

The month of March was a bumpy ride. The averages retreated back to summer and fall 2024 levels, continuing the slide that began in February. The Magnificent Seven has been repriced and only Netflix remains positive YTD through Q1. Small-Caps fell off dramatically and remain the worst area to invest with an uncertain investment backdrop.

  February closed out a negative month for stocks across all market indices. On February 19th the S&P 500 hit a new all-time high, while the DOW and the NASDAQ were just shy of theirs. The Russell 2000 was nowhere close to its high but participated on the downside. All four indices retreated from then

January started off 2025 on a positive note with all indices ending in the black. Investor cash sloshed around, moving out of Large-Cap equities while adding to Small-Caps, especially in Healthcare. The Financial and Consumer Discretionary sectors were also rewarded with investment. Technology was hammered at the end of January as the news of China’s

Markets limped into year-end but still closed out 2024 with solid performance. The S&P 500 finishing over 20% in back-to-back years has only occurred a few times since 1950. The other occasions were 1954-1955 and 1995-1998. That capped four straight years of +20% performance with 1999 falling just short of +20%. December weathered a significant

November was a strong month of market performance. Both the S&P 500 and the DOW finished at new all-time highs. The broadening out of the market became increasingly evident when viewing the sector rotation in trading. Money moved during the month into Consumer Discretionary (Nov +14.8%), Financials (Nov +12.5%) and Industrials (Nov +8.6%). The Healthcare

September closed out Q3 in the black across all four indices. The Small-cap Russell 2000 eked out a positive month after losing ground in August. The Small-cap story has stalled as investors have continued to invest into the Large-cap value and growth categories. Money Market and U.S. Treasury yields have moved lower. Utilities (+7.6%), Consumer

The month of June continued the strong performance in Technology (+11.34%), evidenced by the NASDAQ index for the month, 2nd quarter and YTD. Many of the names are also represented in the S&P 500. Small and mid-cap equities have underperformed YTD. Communication Services (+6.28%) and Consumer Discretionary (+5.26%) were also strong June performers. Utilities (-4.66%)

March closed out the first quarter in strong fashion. The Russell 2000 led the month’s positive performance charge, and both the S&P 500 (best Q1 since 2019) and DOW outperformed the NASDAQ. The broadening out of the market continued. The Magnificent 7 traded down for the last week in March in quarter-end rebalancing. Q1 earnings

December continued the upward market momentum begun in November. Exuberance over the possibility of Fed rate cuts carried the catchup/Santa Claus rally trade through to year-end. Small-cap outperformed while the Magnificent 7 continued to trade higher. A remarkable year in the markets, with plenty of ups and downs, highlighted by the concentration of just a