Monthly Thoughts
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Market Leadership Rotates as Investors Reassess the AI Trade
Jeffrey L. Corliss, CFP®, ChFC®, CLU® CASL®Managing Director Monthly Market Summary Market Breadth Improves Even as Large Cap Tech Stocks Trade Lower October was a better month for most stocks than the S&P 500’s small decline suggests. The index set a new all-time high early in the month, then traded lower as the largest technology…
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Historical Context: 2026 Is Outperforming the Average Midterm Year
Jeffrey L. Corliss, CFP®, ChFC®, CLU® CASL®Managing Director Midterm election years have historically been more volatile than other years, and they’ve historically delivered weaker returns. This year has followed a very different path. The S&P 500 has gained nearly +12% year-to-date. For comparison, the average midterm year is historically flat at the same point, while…
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3Q 2026 Recap & 4Q 2026 Outlook
Jeffrey L. Corliss, CFP®, ChFC®, CLU® CASL®Managing Director, Westport Key Updates on the Economy & Markets The third quarter combined solid economic and corporate fundamentals with renewed pressure from oil and interest rates. Oil traded back above $100 per barrel, inflation remained elevated, Treasury yields surged higher, and the Federal Reserve raised rates in September….
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Stocks Set New Highs as Investors Look Past Headlines & Focus on Fundamentals
Monthly Market Summary Stocks Set New Highs Despite Interest Rates Rising Throughout the Month Equity markets traded higher in August, with strength extending across most broad stock market indexes. The S&P 500, Dow Jones, Russell 2000, and equal-weight S&P 500 all set new all-time highs during the month, and the Nasdaq 100 approached its all-time…
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Wall Street Usually Cuts Its Estimates – This Year, It’s Raising Them
Jeffrey L. Corliss, CFP®, ChFC®, CLU® CASL®Managing Director Each year tends to follow a similar script on Wall Street. Analysts start the year optimistic about how much profit companies will earn, then spend the following quarters trimming those forecasts as actual results come in. Figure 1, which tracks the S&P 500 earnings estimates for each…
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Stocks Hold Steady Despite a Busy Month of Geopolitical and AI Headlines
Monthly Market Summary Markets Turn Back to the Middle East as Tensions Resurface The ceasefire from earlier this spring didn’t hold in July. Renewed conflict between the U.S. and Iran resurfaced the same headlines and concerns from earlier in the year, as uncertainty around the Strait of Hormuz once again raised the risk of reduced…
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What Real-Time Data Says About the Economy
Jeffrey L. Corliss, CFP®, ChFC®, CLU® CASL®Managing Director Most economic reports are released with a delay, which means investors are often looking at what happened weeks or even months ago after economists have had time to gather the data. The Federal Reserve’s Weekly Economic Index helps fill that gap by providing a more up-to-date snapshot…
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2Q 2026 Recap & 3Q 2026 Outlook
Jeffrey L. Corliss, CFP®, ChFC®, CLU® CASL®Managing Director, Westport A THOUGHT BEFORE WE GET INTO OUR RECAP & OUTLOOK: Climbing the Wall of Worry The old investment phrase, “the market climbs a wall of worry,” has rarely felt more appropriate than it does today. Every day seems to bring a new reason for investors to…
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AI and Geopolitics Continue to Drive Markets
Monthly Market Summary Stocks Set New Highs as Geopolitical Tensions Ease May was a strong month for equities, with most major indexes setting fresh all-time highs. The S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 set new highs each week, with the Dow Jones and Russell 2000 also setting new highs throughout the month. Even the equal-weight…
