Holidays 2020
Season’s Greetings from CTS Financial Group
Wishing you peace and joy this holiday season and a healthy, happy new year.
Vaccine Rollout Spurs Markets
The Weekly Update
Week of December 20th, 2020
By Christopher T. Much, CFP®, AIF®
The Week on Wall Street
Stocks climbed higher amid the COVID-19 vaccine rollout and an improving outlook for a fiscal stimulus bill.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average, which has lagged all year, gained 0.44%. The Standard & Poor’s 500 picked up 1.25% while the Nasdaq Composite index surged 3.05%. The MSCI EAFE index, which tracks developed overseas stock markets, rose 2.44%.
Stocks Climb Higher
In a week that celebrated the national rollout of a COVID-19 vaccine, market enthusiasm was tempered by worries of infection caseload and fresh economic lockdowns.
Investors turned their focus to the fiscal stimulus negotiations in Washington, D.C., with the hope that a relief bill may be the bridge that gets the economy over its near-term troubles until vaccine distribution grows more widespread.
These negotiations were not smooth sailing. When a compromise bill appeared to gather support, markets quickly moved …
Cases Rise, Stocks Retreat
The Weekly Update
Week of December 14th, 2020
By Christopher T. Much, CFP®, AIF®
The Week on Wall Street
Stocks retreated last week on rising COVID-19 infections and slow progress on an economic relief bill.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.57%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 dropped 0.96%. The Nasdaq Composite index fell 0.69% for the week. The MSCI EAFE index, which tracks developed overseas stock markets, declined 0.05%.
Stimulus Stalls, Stocks Stumble
The market grappled all week with worries over rising COVID-19 cases and the economic restrictions that followed. Nevertheless, there were moments of optimism— such as the starting of vaccinations in the U.K.— that drove markets to record highs.
But gains could not be sustained as an agreement on a fiscal stimulus bill remained elusive and daily news regarding COVID-19 cases undermined investor sentiment.
Markets were also challenged by having to absorb a number of new and secondary stock offerings last week, including …
8 Financial Goals for your 40s and 50s
8 Financial Goals for your 40s and 50s
Our clients in their 40s and 50s are faced with many unknowns: How much longer do I want to work? How much longer do I need to work? How much do I need saved for retirement? Am I making good progress? There’s a lot to consider as you approach retirement, but we feel that there are 8 key things that almost everyone should have on their radar. We shared these points in a recent article, and we hope you find them useful. https://bit.ly/3ltL5fh.
Is Stimulus Near?
The Weekly Update
Week of December 7th, 2020
By Christopher T. Much, CFP®, AIF®
The Week on Wall Street
Stocks marched higher last week on an improving outlook for the passage of a fiscal stimulus package.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.03%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 tacked on 1.67%. The Nasdaq Composite index gained 2.12% for the week. The MSCI EAFE index, which tracks developed overseas stock markets, gained 0.78%.
A Record Week for Stocks
After opening the week with moderate losses amid rising COVID-19 infections, stocks turned higher as investor sentiment was buoyed by the resumption of fiscal stimulus negotiations. As lawmakers discussed various proposals, stocks managed to grind higher.
A better-than-expected jobless claims report on Thursday added fuel to the market rally, but the gains evaporated in late-day trading following news by a major pharmaceutical company that it would be slowing its rollout of the vaccine due to logistical challenges.
A disappointing …
