Category: Commentary

Stocks little changed to end short week. Indexes rallied from opening lows to finish mostly flat on Thursday, ending the market’s five-week winning streak. Telecom was the best performing sector on the day, closing up 1%, while financial stocks weighed … Continue reading →

As we noted on Tuesday, the S&P 500 was down 10% at one point this quarter and has a shot at closing the quarter green. You have to go back to the Great Depression for the last time equities saw … Continue reading →

Stocks fall as oil drops back below $40. A 3.5% drop in the price of WTI crude oil caused energy and materials to lead U.S. indexes lower on Wednesday. Additional uncertainty was cast on the markets by hawkish comments from … Continue reading →

Sugar taxes, while nothing new, have been back in the news lately, with England’s recent announcement of a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) making headlines. Other governments, including Mexico, France, and even the city of Berkeley, California, have passed similar … Continue reading →

The old saying goes, “March comes in like a lion, and goes out like a lamb.” Well, that has been exactly the case pertaining to market volatility. Think about this, during the first two months of 2016, the S&P saw … Continue reading →

Markets pause after Brussels attack. Stocks finished mostly flat in Wednesday trading, with the Dow and S&P 500 closing slightly lower, while the Nasdaq managed to overcome early losses and finish up 0.27%. Healthcare stocks outperformed on biotech strength, though … Continue reading →

Everyone at LPL is saddened and horrified by yet another attack on innocents, this time in Brussels. Our hearts go out to the people of the city and to those injured or who lost loved ones. This is the second … Continue reading →

The S&P 500 could do something this quarter it hasn’t done since the Great Depression. Yesterday, we looked at what happens after the S&P 500 is up five straight weeks; we also mentioned that after being down 10% for the … Continue reading →

Markets inch higher on low volume. Major U.S. indexes advanced on Monday, despite 4 of 10 sectors losing ground on the day. The top-performing sectors were telecom and healthcare, though gains were offset by energy and materials, both closing down … Continue reading →

The bounce in equities continues, with the S&P 500 moving positive year to date for the first time this year on Friday. In fact, the S&P 500 was negative year to date on each of the first 52 days of … Continue reading →