Refreshing Snippets
Navigating Market Volatility
Today, the S&P 500 dropped 2.7% while the Nasdaq composite declined 4%. It’s important during times of heighten market volatility to maintain perspective as market swings like this can feel unsettling but they are not uncommon. History has shown that resilience and long-term discipline are key to successful investing. Let’s take a step back and look at the bigger picture to put things in perspective.
August CPI Data - Why the Sell-Off?
Why would a small 0.1% increase in CPI cause such a big sell-off in the markets?
The answer: because analysts were expecting a 0.1% decline for August instead of an increase (albeit a small one at that). An increase of 0.1% indicates that inflation remains high from a year-over-year perspective (at 8.3%) and may not be moderating as hoped.
The Fed Gets What It Wants
It's well known that two emotions drive market prices: greed and fear...and fear is at the helm right now. There are more sellers than buyers, causing security prices to decline, but if you stand back and look at the bigger picture, this is exactly what the Fed wants. The Fed is managing inflation by affecting consumer demand.
The Market Sell-Off In Perspective
Today, the Dow Jones Index fell 1,060 points ( 3.1%) and the S&P 500 index fell 3.6%. Year-to-date, the DJIA and SPX indices are down 9.2% and 13%, respectively. Investor sentiment and market commentary are extremely negative...is it time to pull out of the markets?