Index Performance

S&P 500 Index: 1.8%

Dow Jones Industrial Average: 1.9%

Nasdaq Composite: 1.5%

US and International Equities

As news concerning President Trump affected Friday’s markets, the S&P 500 Index still managed to end the week higher. Energy has been the worst performing sector now for two consecutive weeks. The best performing sectors were real estate, utilities, consumer discretionary, technology, as well as the financials. Growth managed to outperform value by over 1%.  Moreover, mid and small caps had solid performances this week, with both markets up over 3.5%.

Even

First and foremost, we wish President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump a swift and full recovery. This October surprise raises the already high level of political uncertainty markets are dealing with as Election Day approaches. As market participants digest this news and consider the possibility that the President may not be able to fulfill his duties, markets may become more volatile. However, we believe Trump’s odds of beating the virus, as the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro did, are quite good. As the President and first lady of the United States, Donald and Me

“October: This is one of the peculiarly dangerous months to speculate in stocks. The others are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August, and February.” Mark Twain

After a historic 60% rally, stocks pulled back in September before a late month bounce. In the end, the S&P 500 Index fell 3.9%, but was still up a very impressive 8.5% for the historically weak third quarter. As we noted three months ago after the S&P 500 gained 20% in the second quarter, continued strength was likely, and it played out well once again.

The good news? A big third quart

In the recent LPL Market Signals video, LPL Financial Chief Market Strategist Ryan Detrick and Equity Strategist Jeff Buchbinder discussed recent equity weakness and why it isn’t a major warning, along with COVID-19 worries and more, including:

• Recent equity weakness

• A potential tech bubble

• COVID cases spiking in Europe

• Ryan and Jeff’s big fantasy football battle on the horizon

• 6 months off the S&P 500 Index lows

You can watch the full discussion below and direct from our YouTube channel. Please be sure to subscribe to the LPL Research YouTube channel, so you don&r