Trent Marsh on LinkedIn: Weekly market wrap (2024)

In our latest Weekly Market Wrap, we explore the current state of the consumer, the outlook for spending and the implications for both the economy and the markets.

With inflation's peak in the rear view, and the stock market climbing to a new summit in recent days, last week highlighted the role the descent in inflation is having on the ascent in equities. We think these conjoining trends can persist, though likely with a few more hiccups along the way.Check out our peak perspectives in our latest Weekly Market Wrap.

As the first quarter earnings season wraps up, we offer our take on the state of corporate America, which provides a valuable compass for evaluating the overall trajectory of stocks.

After five months of sharp and steady gains beginning last November, the mood in the financial markets has shifted in recent weeks. The catalysts for the swing – Fed policy, the jobs market, corporate earnings – were all in the spotlight last week. We offer our take in our latest Weekly Market Wrap.

Between a barrage of corporate earnings, the first quarter GDP report, and the release of the Fed's preferred measure of inflation, investors had plenty to digest as markets continue navigate a bumpy start to the second quarter. While new data flooded in, the narrative stayed largely unchanged in our view, and stocks recovered some of the April losses on the back of strength from tech. We offer our take on last week's developments along with portfolio implications.

After a 25% run higher in the S&P 500 over the past six months, the tone in the markets in recent weeks seems to have shifted. In our view, volatility has been sparked by a trifecta of recent data and news flow.We share our take on three drivers of the recent market pullback in our latest Weekly Market Wrap.

Along with last week's solar eclipse came another seemingly rare event: the stock market turned lower, with hotter-than-expected inflation data eclipsing the enthusiasm around upcoming Fed rate cuts. Although we've been of the view that the recent sharp market rally will eventually need to blink, more broadly, we still think there's a good case for investors to look up.

Employment conditions plus inflation trends equals Fed interest rate decisions. This is the calculus that has been guiding market performance for the past two years. The first variable in that equation was in full focus last week as the latest jobs report provided a fresh look at the state of the labor market. While the better-than-expected results showed that the economy remains in good health, markets will continue to do the math on what this means for upcoming Fed actions.In our latest Weekly Market Wrap, we offer our take on the implications for markets as we advance.

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The last time the Fed achieved a soft landing was in 1995 when a successful pivot to rate cuts supported the start of a multi-year rally. Today, investors are hoping to achieve a similar outcome as most central banks are eyeing the start of rate cuts in the months ahead. In our latest Weekly Market Wrap, we examine the similarities and differences in the macroeconomic backdrop between now and the mid-'90s and offer our views of where the opportunities lie.