commentary

Q2 2024 Market & Economic Review

Download our quarterly communication with market and economics charts, and commentary on events of the previous quarter.

Reinhart Week in Review by Madison Investments 7.12.2024

The job market appears to be softening, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell testified before the House and Senate, and inflation appears to be moderating. Read the Reinhart fixed income team’s Week in Review to understand what this means for markets.

2024 Mid-Year U.S. Equity Letter from Haruki Toyama

Monthly Market Update - July 2024

Looking at just the headline indices, June was another stellar month for stock investors. The S&P 500 Index was up 3.6% for the month, bringing the year-to-date return to 15.3%. But underneath this banner was a different story. The equal-weighted S&P was down for the month, as were the major mid-cap and small-cap indices. So, too, for the value indices. For the month, only three sectors, Technology, Consumer Discretionary, and Communication Services, beat the overall index.

Monthly Market Update - June 2024

The S&P 500 Index ended the month up just shy of 5%, bringing the year-to-date return to 11.3%. Fixed income bounced back with a 1.7% return in May. However, the return of rising interest rates has suppressed performance, with the Bloomberg Aggregate Bond Index showing a 1.6% loss so far this year. The domestic stock market continued to be led by a small number of mega-cap technology firms.

Monthly Market Update - May 2024

This past month was another in many months of seesawing sentiment over the state of inflation and the state of the economy and their effects on Federal Reserve policy. Early this year, optimism over falling inflation produced widespread belief that interest rate cuts would be dropping as frequently as Caitlin Clark's threes. Stubborn inflation and a resilient economy had shifted speculation to one, two, or maybe just zero cuts in 2024. Worriers went so far as to postulate another rate increase, a possibility Chairman Powell brushed off, to the market's relief, in his May 1 statements.

Q1 2024 Market & Economic Review

Download our quarterly communication with market and economics charts, and commentary on events of the previous quarter.

Fixed Income Market Update – Q1 2024

The first quarter of 2024 ended with a reversal of mood from the final quarter of 2023. As December wound to a close, Treasury yields moved sharply lower in anticipation of a faster and more aggressive shift toward monetary policy easing.