May surely did bloom! Even with the end of the month giving up some gains and aside from the economy seemingly slowing down, the S&P500 was still up over 9% for the year.
Here are a few key points over the last month:
- The Federal Reserve didn’t cut rates. In fact, there is now a slimmer chance that there are even two cuts with the Futures market leaning towards only one cut by the end of the year—though there are still glimmers of hope that inflation is fading.
- The month started off on an excellent run and really jumped near mid-month getting the S&P500 to an all-time high.
- Bad news actually worked like it was supposed to work. When jobless claims rose more than expected, the markets pulled back. This is a sign that some investors are relying on corporate data over Fed rate cuts. Unfortunately, the Fed is seemingly still the strongest component of market movements.
A quick summary would lead me to believe that there are tiny spots of the market that want to simply forget about the Fed, yet as soon as the Fed meets or speaks, it falls back to interest rate policy. It’s simply a frustrating news cycle that’s lasted over two years now!
Housekeeping
- We would like to welcome Cindy Kuettner of Kuettner Financial Services to the building! You might see her around the office as you are here. She is already a well-established advisor in Oshkosh, and we are extremely happy to have her around. We are looking forward to working together for many years to come.
- I will be travelling for a couple of weeks with limited access to email. I’ll still have access to everything via laptop, but I might be a bit slower responding. Of course, Jenny and Amber will still be here for everything day-to-day.
Larry Mroczkowski
President
The opinions voiced in this material are for general information only and are not intended to provide specific advice or recommendations for any individual. All performance referenced is historical and is no guarantee of future results. All indices are unmanaged and may not be invested into directly.
The economic forecasts set forth in this material may not develop as predicted and there can be no guarantee that strategies promoted will be successful. All investing involves risks, including the loss of principal.