Market Commentary

U.S. stocks rallied after Russia invaded Ukraine on Thursday. The news that the initial sanctions wouldn’t target Russian energy exports to Europe reduced concerns about a European economic slowdown. While global markets declined last week, the U.S. finished higher even though the S&P 5 …

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24 has pushed the S&P 500 into a deeper decline. Stocks had already fallen more than 10% in anticipation of the attack and concerns over inflation and higher interest rates. When the invasion proved to be on the aggressive end of expectations, ma …

Market uncertainty on multiple fronts is making it tough for investors. Russia’s ambitions in Ukraine, inflation, and some upheaval in individual securities are making it more challenging to bear risk than last year. 2021 was relatively calm, with only 80% as many 1% daily moves in the mark …

Inflation continues to move sharply higher. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 0.6% last month and is up 7.5% in the last 12 months. The annual gain is the highest since February 1982. Big gains in energy and food helped fuel the outsized price hikes. Core CPI, which excludes food and ener …

 The U.S. jobs market provided most of the major economic news last week. The latest establishment survey estimated 467,000 jobs were added in January. Regular revisions in the most recent months added an additional 709,000 jobs. The job market appears stronger than expected.

Equity markets wrapped up a volatile week with a late-Friday surge that pushed the S&P 500 to a 0.8% gain. Each day last week experienced a swing of at least 2.25%. Ongoing concerns about interest rates, inflation, valuations, and geopolitical challenges are contributing to swings in the market.