Stocks Up as Shutdown Looms
The Weekly Update
Week of January 22, 2018
By Christopher T. Much, CFP®, AIF®
We’re only a few weeks into 2018, and stocks are showing quite a strong performance so far. Last week, major domestic indexes posted gains yet again, with all 3 up at least 5% this year. By Friday, the S&P 500 had added another 0.86%, and both the Dow and NASDAQ were up 1.04%. All 3 indexes hit new record highs at least once during the week.
In addition to the solid performance for U.S. equities, we’re also experiencing synchronized global growth. European and Asian stocks grew last week, and China’s growth data was more positive than expected. Overall, international stocks in the MSCI EAFE added a healthy 1.24% last week. Year to date, the MSCI is up 4.95%.
What happened last week?
Two key topics drove conversations: corporate earnings and a government shutdown.
1. Corporate Earnings
In the U.S., corporate earnings season …