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1 week ago | 
advisorperspectives.com | Liz Ann Sonders |Kevin Gordon
In economic analysis, the distinction between "soft" and "hard" data is crucial for interpreting the health and trajectory of the economy. Soft data refers to sentiment-based measures such as surveys, expectations, and confidence indicators, while hard data encompasses quantifiable economic outputs like employment numbers, retail sales, and industrial production. Recent divergences between weaker soft economic data and more resilient hard data have muddied the outlook.
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2 weeks ago | 
advisorperspectives.com | Liz Ann Sonders |Kathy Jones |Jeffrey Kleintop |Kevin Gordon
Stocks have surged since the White House backed away from sweeping tariffs imposed in early April, although U.S. tariff policy remains uncertain and is a potential driver of continued volatility. Higher tariffs could slow economic growth while raising inflation—which is still above the Federal Reserve's 2% target rate—complicating the Fed's move toward cutting interest rates.
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3 weeks ago | 
advisorperspectives.com | Liz Ann Sonders |Kevin Gordon
Last week marked one month since the S&P 500's recent April 8th low. To say the recovery has been fast and furious might be an understatement, evidenced by the index's 13.7% gain from April 8th to May 8th. Going back to 2000, the only years in which we've seen a stronger one-month increase are 2020, 2009, 2008, 2002, and 2001.
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2 months ago | 
advisorperspectives.com | Liz Ann Sonders |Kevin Gordon
Amid a market correction and heightened policy, inflation and growth concerns, valuations are back in the spotlight. Equity market valuations can be analyzed in multiple contexts and via myriad metrics. Most metrics are fundamental in nature, often relating price to another fundamental component like earnings (P/E ratios), sales, or book value. But then there's the willingness factor: the ebb and flow over time of what investors are willing to pay for those fundamental components.
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2 months ago | 
advisorperspectives.com | Liz Ann Sonders |Kevin Gordon
Recession fears are escalating alongside a tremendous level of government policy uncertainty, specifically regarding tariffs and DOGE spending cuts. The stock market has taken notice, with a correction underway among a couple of key indexes. There are a lot of threads to pull here, but let's start with a broader look at the history of cycles—including across markets and the economy.
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2 months ago | 
advisorperspectives.com | Liz Ann Sonders |Kathy Jones |Jeffrey Kleintop |Kevin Gordon
Sign me up to receive email newsletters from VettaFi Advisor Perspectives Past performance is no guarantee of future results, and the opinions presented cannot be viewed as an indicator of future performance. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal. Diversification and asset allocation strategies do not ensure a profit and cannot protect against losses in a declining market.
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Mar 4, 2025 | 
advisorperspectives.com | Liz Ann Sonders |Kevin Gordon
Shown below, the Magnificent Seven (Mag7)—Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Meta, Alphabet (Google), Amazon, and Tesla—have encountered notable challenges in the early months of 2025, marking a departure from their previous market dominance. Several dynamics have contributed to this shift in performance dominance, not least being valuation and earnings concerns (more on that below).
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Dec 11, 2024 | 
advisorperspectives.com | Liz Ann Sonders |Kevin Gordon
We've often chuckled at comments about "markets hating uncertainty"…as if there have ever been periods of certainty. But as we close the books on 2024 and peer into 2025, perhaps the uncertainties this time are of a magnitude beyond the norm. President-elect Trump's policy proposals have always sparked intense debate, but the extreme uncertainties surrounding them—and the myriad associated crosscurrents—have made it difficult to forecast their impact on both domestic and global conditions.
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Nov 27, 2024 | 
advisorperspectives.com | Liz Ann Sonders |Kevin Gordon
It's been an eventful few weeks. On the heels of the presidential election, stocks initially rallied with force, reflecting investor optimism over potential regulatory rollbacks and lower corporate tax rates. Shown via the blue bars in the chart below, equity indexes and the Magnificent 7 (Mag7) group of stocks were up between 3% and more than 7% in the days immediately following the election.
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Oct 1, 2024 | 
advisorperspectives.com | Liz Ann Sonders |Kevin Gordon
Sign me up to receive email newsletters from VettaFi Advisor PerspectivesShame on anyone stopping the analysis there by exclaiming that investors would have been much better off only investing when Democrats were in the White House. An investor who did not care whether the Oval Office was painted blue or red, and kept their money in the market, saw that initial investment grow to nearly $38 million.
