Affinity "Mark" et Minute - April 10, 2018

Affinity “Mark” et Minute – April 10, 2018

Investment Commentary –April 10th, 2018

Year to Date Market Indices as of Market Close April 10th, 2018
Dow 24,408 (-1.26%)
S&P 2,656 (-0.63%)
NASDAQ 7,094 (2.77%)
Gold $1,342 (2.14%)
OIL $65.59 (9.39%)
US 10Y Treasury 2.80 (39.38%)
Barclay Bond Aggregate (-2.20%)

Dow jumps over 400 points as China’s Xi soothes trade fears

The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained more than 400 points Tuesday as U.S. stocks surged thanks to a less-aggressive stance on trade taken by Chinese President Xi Jinping.
Xi’s conciliatory comments on tariffs helped to ease concerns about an escalating conflict between the world’s two largest economies, sending prices of risky assets such as global equities and commodities higher.

What did the main benchmarks do?

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +1.79% jumped 428.90 points, or 1.8%, to 24,408.00. The S&P 500 SPX, +1.67% finished 43.71 points, or 1.7%, higher to 2,656.87. The Nasdaq Composite Index COMP, +2.07% climbed 143.96 points to 7,094.30, a gain of 2.1%.

The day’s gains were broad, with 28 of the 30 Dow components as well as nine of the 11 S&P 500 sectors finishing in positive territory. Energy was the biggest gainer, up 3.3%, while tech shares jumped 2.5%.

Around the Web

Earnings season optimism

First-quarter earnings reports are scheduled to begin coming in this week, and analysts are expecting the strongest quarterly profit growth in eight years, in part due to the new tax law and its reduction of corporate rates. Earnings for companies in the S&P 500 are expected to rise an average of 18% compared with the same quarter a year ago, according to analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S Estimates.

Jobs setback

On the heels of February’s big gain of 326,000 jobs, the March employment report was something of a disappointment. The economy generated 103,000 new jobs, far below economists’ expectations and the fewest in six months. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.1% and wage growth was steady.

Upcoming events

Wednesday: Release of minutes from March 20–21 meeting of the U.S. Federal Reserve Board

Other Notable Indices (YTD)

Russell 2000 (small caps) 0.52
EAFE International -0.53
EAFE Emerging Markets 0.40
Shiller Cape Annuity index 0.46

The views presented are not intended to be relied on as a forecast, research or investment advice and are the opinions of the sources cited and are subject to change based on subsequent developments. They are not a recommendation, offer or solicitation to buy or sell any securities or to adopt any investments.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/us-stocks-primed-to-rally-hard-on-xis-promise-to-open-chinas-markets-2018-04-10

About the Author: Mark Roberts

In addition to managing clients’ money and giving investment and diversification advice, Mark offers something that “the other guys” don’t - a unique approach to Retirement Tax Strategies and distribution. Time and time again, Mark meets with new clients who tell him they have a great relationship with their financial advisor but have never been offered information on this kind of approach to securing their financial futures. Mark has taken this feedback to heart and works tirelessly to ensure that his strategies focus on taxes and distribution. Mark started selling insurance for a major insurance company right out of high school to help put himself through college. After graduating with a degree in finance, he dove into estate planning on the financial side to set himself apart from other financial advisors. However, as changes were made to estate tax laws over time, Mark shifted his focus to income tax strategies. Mark’s philosophy is “the blue prints are more important than the wall paper or carpet.” The wall paper and carpet represent products like investments and insurance policies, whereas the blue prints represent the strategies. Once strategies that truly fit the client’s needs are put in place, our focus can shift to providing you with the right products. According to Mark, “It doesn’t matter what carpet we use if the walls are not in the right place.” Our approach to money management is designed to generate the largest alpha (quality) with the lowest standard deviation and beta (risk). By doing this, we help provide clients with the highest return on the lowest risk. Generating income for our retirees is also very important. Because withdrawing money from your portfolio hurts the account rather than helping it, our goal is to design income strategies to harm the portfolio the least making the money last longer.

Affinity “Mark” et Minute – April 10, 2018

Affinity “Mark” et Minute – April 10, 2018

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About the Author: Mark Roberts