The June jobs report was solid. Labor market conditions rebounded last month from a disappointing May, easing market worries about the impact of trade tensions on corporate hiring. Nonfarm payrolls rose 224,000 in June, beating consensus estimates for a 160,000 gain [Figure 1].

The stronger-than-expected data caught investors off guard, though. The 10-year Treasury yield posted its second-biggest increase on a jobs report day since the beginning of 2016, and the S&P 500 Index briefly sold off as much as 1% intraday before ending the day unchanged. Markets were clearly prepped for a second month of disappointing

We expect stocks to move higher over the second half of the year. Stocks already have had quite a run in 2019, buoyed by a return to fundamentals, with the S&P 500 Index up 17.4% year to date through June 28 for an 18.5% total return. The decision by the Federal Reserve (Fed) to pause rate hikes was the catalyst for the reversal, as market participants no longer feared that the Fed might unnecessarily restrict growth. U.S. economic data also have generally supported a continued economic expansion, while businesses continue to find ways to effectively navigate the environment. Generally upbeat first-quarter corporate earnings results gave

Fundamentals continue to support steady but moderate economic growth in 2019. That said, progress on trade is central to our growth projections, so we’ve slightly reduced our gross domestic product (GDP) forecast to 2.25–2.5%. Here we share our domestic and global economic growth outlooks for the second half of this year, featuring content from our just-released Midyear Outlook 2019.

U.S. Economy

The U.S. economy grew at 3.1% in the first quarter as domestic demand held up well in the face of a government shutdown and trade headwinds. Consumer spending was a modest contributor to GDP, while business investment sl

The LPL Research Midyear Outlook 2019: FUNDAMENTAL: How to Focus on What Really Matters in the Markets is here to provide economic and market guidance as well as investment recommendations to help us navigate the second half of 2019.

LPL Financial Research believes that even as investors face prospects for periodic bouts of volatility, emphasizing fundamentals will remain critical for making effective investment decisions. LPL Financial Research’s Midyear Outlook 2019 provides updated views of current fundamentals and factors that should persist as shorter-term concerns fade, and emphasizes four primary pillar