Index Performance

U.S. and International Equities

Major Markets Finish Lower Amid Delta and Earnings Growth Concerns

The major markets finished lower for a second straight week. Friday’s quadruple witching where individual stock options and futures, along with index options and futures all expire on the same day, Delta variant cases and thus earnings concerns all played a role in traders selling equities this week.  Emerging markets, as represented by the MSCI EM Index, was the biggest detractor on the backs of increased Chinese regulations.

Energy Propels Through a Tough We

Several policy-related risks loom in September and October that may lead to an increase in market volatility. The debt ceiling needs to be raised (likely by mid-October), the government needs to be funded to avoid a shutdown by the end of September, and the Democrats are trying to pass two major spending bills and will need to provide greater clarity on tax increases over the next several weeks. We believe the greatest risks come from the debt ceiling and taxes, but expect neither to have much near-term impact on the general trajectory of the bull market.

There’s always something going on in Washington, but with summer behi

Index Performance (as of 4:00 PM ET)

U.S. and International Equities

Major Indices Show Modest Weekly Declines as Delta Worries Mount

All major markets finished lower as the investor concerns over the Delta variant, Federal Reserve (Fed) tapering, and policy risk grew. The S&P 500 index was down each day of the holiday-shortened week, along with the prior Friday, posting its first run of 5 consecutive down days since February of this year. Developed international markets, as represented by the MSCI EAFE Index, outperformed the other major market indexes, although still posting a modest weekly d

Fun Fact Friday: The Dow Jones Transportation Average is actually the oldest US stock market index in existence, even older than the more-popular Dow Jones Industrial Average. Charles Dow developed the index, originally called the Dow Jones Railroad Average, all the way back in 1884 and it was originally comprised of just nine railroad stocks and two non-rail companies.

Now certainly stock indexes and the Dow Transports have evolved significantly in the past 130 years, and you might be questioning the relevance of transportation stocks in a world where information moves at the speed of light and commerce increasingly happens onli