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Monthly Market Update

The Monthly Market Update is part of our ongoing commitment to investor education and research. These posts often spark discussion and provide insight into our perspective on current financial markets and economic events.

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Most Recent Update

December 2024 Monthly Market Update

U.S. stock markets had a second consecutive year of strong gains in 2024 with the S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average finishing up 25.02% and 14.99% respectively. Strong economic growth, moderating inflation, and improving labor productivity were key factors supporting market strength. Throughout 2024 market valuations climbed to levels last seen during 2020-2021 when […]

May 2017 Economic Dashboard

Here in Indy the month of May is mostly about one thing, the Indianapolis 500. As part of the auto-racing triple crown (the Monaco Grand Prix and 24 Hours of Le Mans being the other two), it’s something drivers aspire to win. Winning the race, or even just finishing for that matter, requires skill and […]

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April 2017 Economic Dashboard

Spring is officially here and it apparently brought the post-election market rally to a halt. On March 1st the S&P 500 hit an all-time high of 2,401, an 11% increase from Election Day. Since then the rally has stalled, having declined about 3% before recovering and finishing April within 20 points of the high. Much […]

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March 2017 Economic Dashboard

U.S. stocks continued to hit all-time highs during the first quarter, as optimism is high the economy will enter a faster phase of growth. Central to this theme is the new administration and Congress will enact legislation that will spur government spending (notably defense, homeland security and infrastructure), while reforming regulations, healthcare and taxes. Nothing […]

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February 2017 Economic Dashboard

In 2002 New England came out of nowhere as underdogs to win their first Super Bowl title. In a season that included the September 11th terrorist attacks and a rapidly-deflating Dot-com bubble, America united around a team fittingly called the Patriots. Fast forward 15 years and those same Patriots are Super Bowl champions once again, […]

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January 2017 Economic Dashboard

It finally happened! After flirting with the elusive 20,000 level for six weeks the Dow Jones Industrial Average finally crossed the mark at the end of January. Networks plastered the number all over their broadcasts and traders created hats, but what does it all really mean? Frankly, not a whole lot. It’s a nice round […]

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December 2016 Economic Dashboard

Investors welcomed the New Year with the major US indexes at record levels, an unexpected event after a year of many unexpected events (e.g., Brexit, Chicago Cubs, Trump). The broader-based S&P 500 Index recorded its sixth best year of the millennium, amid optimism the malaise that has been the norm for most of this period […]

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November 2016 Economic Dashboard

The election is finally over and like us you probably noticed a result not unlike the Brexit vote: the outcome probably surprised you, no matter which side you voted for, and after a large initial decline the stock market quickly rebounded. The S&P 500 had a 3.70% total return for the month, crossing 2,200 for […]

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October 2016 Economic Dashboard

Like most Americans we are grateful the election will be over on November 8. That said, we continue to maintain that history is the best resource as to the stock market’s reaction to whoever wins the White House. We have reviewed the market’s performance in past election cycles and found the underlying trend of the […]

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September 2016 Economic Dashboard

The third quarter could not match the excitement generated by the surprise vote by the UK to exit the European Union, but the looming presidential election in the US has now taken center stage as the most important geopolitical event on the horizon. Past reviews of how the financial markets react to the eventual winner […]

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August 2016 Economic Dashboard

After a strong but unexpected rally following the Brexit vote in late June, stocks have spent the past month and a half treading water. A market technician will call this sideways pattern a “consolidation” of the surge to new record highs, while investors prefer to call the period boring. Boring beats volatile and the market […]

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