Presented by Matt Glova and the LifeTime Asset Management team:
Weekly Market Update, December 20, 2021
U.S. equity markets were down last week as the Federal Reserve (Fed)’s decision to double the pace at which it reduced its asset purchases took some steam out of the market and high-flying growth names. The yield curve moved modestly last week, with slight flattening on the back half as future growth projections continued to come down.
Click here to read the full weekly market report published December 20, 2021.
Weekly Market Update, December 13, 2021
Encouraging news regarding the Omicron variant led to a reversal of the prior week’s sell-off. News from South Africa’s Department of Health cited milder symptoms for the Omicron variant than the Delta variant. This was followed by a preliminary study from Pfizer, which showed that its booster provides protection against Omicron. Global markets rallied on this news and were supported further by a 6.8 percent year-over-year increase in inflation for the month of November—the highest consumer inflation print in the U.S. since June 1982.
Click here to read the full weekly market report published December 13, 2021.
Weekly Market Update, December 6, 2021
The yield curve continued to rise on the front end and flatten beyond the 5-year Treasury note last week. Near-term inflationary concerns drove the short end of the curve higher and flattened the back end of the curve due to lower future growth expectations amid concerns from the Omicron variant as well as slower global growth. The 10-year Treasury yield opened last week at 1.482 percent and closed the week at 1.341 percent, a drop of 14.1 basis points (bps). The 30-year opened last week at 1.827 percent and closed at 1.676 percent, falling 15.1 bps. The front end of the curve moved higher following Federal Reserve (Fed) Chair Jerome Powell’s suggestion that the central bank may accelerate its taper. The 2-year rose 8.3 bps over the course of the week, closing at 0.591 percent.
Click here to read the full weekly market report published December 6, 2021.