Latest from the Blog

The major markets closed slightly lower, except for the MSCI Emerging Markets Index. Market analysts are waiting for the quarterly earnings releases over the next few weeks. The S&P 500 traded in a narrow range last week, and volatility was low. The debt ceiling is becoming an exciting topic, as the US Treasury's General Account Balance was unusually low, potentially limiting the time for Washington to negotiate the debt ceiling before the next government shutdown. Treasuries were unphased, and the yield curve remained unchanged. Contact us to see how we can help you. www.leapwealth.com

Last week, most major markets closed higher, with the S&P 500 gaining 0.79% due to a Thursday surge. This was fueled by the Producer Price Index falling short of estimates, indicating the Fed's interest rate increases are working to curb inflation. The market expects one final increase to the Fed Funds rate, with rates peaking at 500-525 basis points. However, the March FOMC Minutes revealed concerns over the market's future, with the staff projecting a mild recession later this year. This has led to an increase in the yield curve, with Friday's closing yield of 5.14% representing a 16-year high. Contact us to see how we can help you. www.leapwealth.com

Last week, most major markets ended lower except for the Dow Jones, which benefited from its narrow exposure to Blue Chip Stocks. Large Cap Growth managed to eke out a slight gain, but Small and Mid-Cap rows saw significantly lower returns. OPEC announced cuts of roughly 1.6 million barrels per day, leading to a surge in crude oil prices and the S&P GSCI Crude Oil Index returning to positive territory for the year. The week also saw a number of employment-related economic reports, indicating emerging weakness in the labor market. The Job Openings report showed the lowest reading since June 2021, and the BLS Employment Report showed the lowest monthly increase in the last 27 months. Leap Wealth Management is here for all your needs. Contact us to see how we can help you. www.leapwealth.com

In the final week of the first quarter, all 5 indices closed higher. The MSCI World index saw the greatest gains followed closely by the S&P 500, which logged its greatest weekly gain since November. The financial sector weathered the week favorably, with gains in the middle of the pack, helping to curb some of the initial year-to-date losses. The Personal Consumption Expenditures for February's PCE Price Index showed a welcome reduction from January's number, indicating that inflation is continuing to subside. Treasuries rose last week as the yield curve recovered in the shorter end, resulting in a drop in the Bloomberg Barclays Aggregate bond Index. Mortgages experienced greater losses while Corporates saw moderate gains. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you www.leapwealth.com

The Major Markets sprung to life last week with gains across all five indices, despite the seemingly ever-present volatility related to banking confidence. The week began with the news that UBS completed the acquisition of the troubled Credit Suisse through a deal constructed by the Swiss government. This $3.2B deal saw the roughly $1.1 Trillion institution take over the $531B Credit Suisse, shoring up the European banking sector and expanding the size of the “Too Big to Fail” giant. Back stateside, depositors carried concerns about the state of the American Banking system as smaller banks still struggled with depositor confidence. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 saw the index trade back up to the 4000 level. On Wednesday, it was Jerome Powell’s turn to offer reassurance. Following his Prepared comments during the FOMC Post Meeting Press Conference, complete with another 25-basis point increase. In the end, the S&P 500 traded down to the intra-week lows Friday before recovering midday to contain the entirety of the final weekly gains within that day of trading. Market participants still remained suspicious of the Fed’s ability to keep interest rates at an elevated level for the remainder of the year. According to the CME Group’s Fed Watch tool, participants have continued to project the greater likelihood of interest rates a percentage point lower at this time next year. Furthermore, the bond market continued to keep the yield curve inverted, well below the Fed Funds Rate, and much of the curve 50 to 100-basis points lower than the end of February. At Leap Wealth, we are here to help our clients manage through all the highs and lows. Contact us today to learn more.

The Major Markets navigated a tumultuous week last week with mixed results. The Nasdaq was the standout performer as it added 4.41% followed distantly by the S&P 500 which managed to add 1.43%. The remaining three indices ended negatively as the world once again became fixated on a banking crisis. The fall of Silicon Valley Bank created uncertainty and risk across the small banking sector as a loss of confidence began to quickly eat at the minds of depositors. Ahead of last week, the FDIC stepped in aggressively to backstop all account holders of the troubled bank. While the FDIC only insures the first $250,000 of deposits traditionally, the fears of the this contagion spreading to other banks caused them to take extraordinary measures to quell fears. Another Bank, First Republic also made headlines as the institution flirted with the same fate as SVB. However, JP Morgan Chase as well as other banks have loaned $100 billion dollars to shore up the bank while the share price continued to fall. Overseas, Credit Suisse was taken over by UBS in a deal constructed by the Swiss government to prevent another systemic event from materializing with the fall of another global banking player. Last week, the financial sector experienced the 2nd worst weekly performance of the S&P 500 sectors as well as the 2nd worst weekly performance for the sector since June of last year. Treasuries saw a flight to safety as market participants saw the yield curve drop substantially. The 2-year saw the largest drop as the duration fell 79 basis points week-over-week. This stimulated the bond market as most of the non-corporate bond indices closed positive. The Bloomberg Barclays Aggregate bond index added 1.43%, taking the index back into positive territory for the year. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help you www.leapwealth.com