PEEK OF THE WEEK
October 23, 2017
Leif Hagen & Donna Roberts
The Markets
And the hits just keep on
coming.
Last week was the anniversary of
Black Monday. On October 19, 1987, the Dow Jones Industrial Average (Dow) lost
508 points, or more than 20 percent of its value, as it fell from the previous trading
day’s closing value of 2,247 to 1,739. The culprits behind the historic drop
are widely thought to be program trading, high valuations, and market
psychology.
The anniversary didn’t put a
hitch in the markets’ giddy up last week, though. The Dow closed above 23,000
for the first time ever on Wednesday. That’s the fourth thousand-point
milestone the Dow has passed this year, according to Reuters.
The Standard & Poor’s 500
Index also finished the week at a new high. Strong earnings, along with optimism
about fiscal and monetary policy, contributed to investors’ optimism. Financial Times wrote:
“U.S. stocks hit record highs yet
again and the dollar touched its strongest level against the yen for more than
three months as growth bulls applauded news that the Senate had adopted a
fiscal 2018 budget resolution, opening the way for tax reform. U.S. Treasuries
fell – most sharply at the longer end of the curve – as participants fretted
about the prospect of increased federal borrowing and potentially higher
inflation.”
It’s interesting to note,
despite major U.S. stock markets hitting new highs, bullish sentiment has been
below the historical average 36 times this year, including last week. The AAII Investor Sentiment Survey showed
bullish sentiment down 1.8 percent, while bearish sentiment gained 1 percent
and neutral sentiment was up 0.8 percent. Of course, some consider this survey
to be a contrarian indicator.
Data as of
10/20/17
|
1-Week
|
Y-T-D
|
1-Year
|
3-Year
|
5-Year
|
10-Year
|
Standard & Poor's 500 (Domestic Stocks)
|
0.9%
|
15.0%
|
20.3%
|
10.6%
|
12.4%
|
5.5%
|
Dow Jones Global ex-U.S.
|
-0.4
|
20.8
|
19.4
|
4.6
|
5.0
|
-0.6
|
10-year Treasury Note (Yield Only)
|
2.4
|
NA
|
1.8
|
2.2
|
1.8
|
4.4
|
Gold (per ounce)
|
-1.4
|
10.5
|
0.8
|
1.0
|
-5.8
|
5.5
|
Bloomberg Commodity Index
|
-0.7
|
-2.6
|
-0.9
|
-9.9
|
-10.1
|
-7.1
|
DJ Equity All REIT Total Return Index
|
-1.0
|
7.3
|
7.2
|
8.9
|
10.1
|
6.4
|
S&P 500, Dow Jones Global ex-US, Gold, Bloomberg
Commodity Index returns exclude reinvested dividends (gold does not pay a dividend)
and the three-, five-, and 10-year returns are annualized; the DJ Equity All
REIT Total Return Index does include reinvested dividends and the three-,
five-, and 10-year returns are annualized; and the 10-year Treasury Note is
simply the yield at the close of the day on each of the historical time
periods.
Sources: Yahoo! Finance, Barron’s, djindexes.com,
London Bullion Market Association.
Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
Indices are unmanaged and cannot be invested into directly. N/A means not
applicable.
know what can be really scary? warehouse clubs. Like
horror flick fodder (extras and co-stars who ignore their gut instincts and
venture into places they shouldn’t), people go into warehouse clubs thinking
they’ll be able to buy just the items
they need and escape without serious injury to their budgets. In reality, only
shoppers with the preternatural ability to avoid impulse purchases manage it,
reports AARP Magazine.
That doesn’t mean you won’t find
good deals at warehouse clubs. You will, but you have to exercise tremendous
self-discipline. AARP Magazine and Kiplinger’s offered insight to some of
the better values at warehouse clubs. They include:
·
Wine.
Here’s a shocker: One warehouse club is the biggest wine retailer in the
country, according to MarketWatchMag.com.
Reasonably priced, signature brands of quality wines and alcohol have been
helping warehouse clubs attract members and improve sales.
·
Movie
tickets. There are some films that should be watched in the theater. If you
pick up a packet of discount movie tickets at a warehouse club instead of the
theater, the show will cost approximately $8.50 per ticket instead of $13 per
ticket.
·
Batteries.
With the holidays approaching, you’re going to need batteries for everything
from drones to remote controls to digital games. Warehouse clubs often have
competitively priced options.
If you’re determined to save
money by shopping at warehouse clubs, Fox
News suggested a mindset adjustment could help:
“Buying an item you don't need
because it was marked down from $125 to $50 is not saving $75. It's spending
$50. That's a lesson that, if taken to heart, should save all [warehouse club]
members money. That doesn't seem to be the case for most people, however, so
these money-saving memberships probably end up being a drain on people's
finances.”
Here’s another way to avoid
impulse purchases: Make your choices online and then choose in-store pick-up or
delivery.
Weekly Focus – Think About
It
“Today [Amy] starts shopping from her couch by launching a
videoconference with her personal concierge at…the retailer where she bought
two outfits the previous month. The concierge recommends several items,
superimposing photos of them onto Amy’s avatar. Amy rejects a couple of items
immediately, toggles to another browser tab to research customer reviews and
prices, finds better deals on several items at another retailer, and orders
them. She buys one item from [the retailer] online and then drives to the…store
near her for the in-stock items she wants to try on. As Amy enters [the retailer], a sales
associate greets her by name and walks her to a dressing room stocked with her
online selections – plus some matching shoes and a cocktail dress. She likes
the shoes, so she scans the bar code into her smartphone and finds the same
pair for $30 less at another store. The sales associate quickly offers to match
the price…”
--Darrell
K. Rigby, The Future of Shopping
Best Regards,
Leif M. Hagen
Leif M. Hagen, CLU, ChFC
LP Financial Advisor
Securities offered through LPL Financial Inc., Member FINRA/SIPC.
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* This newsletter was
prepared by Peak Advisor Alliance. Peak Advisor Alliance is not affiliated with
the named broker/dealer.
* The Standard & Poor's
500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be
representative of the stock
market in general. You cannot invest directly in this index.
* The Standard & Poor’s
500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged index. Unmanaged index returns do not reflect
fees,
expenses, or sales charges.
Index performance is not indicative of the performance of any investment.
* The 10-year Treasury Note
represents debt owed by the United States Treasury to the public. Since the
U.S.
Government is seen as a
risk-free borrower, investors use the 10-year Treasury Note as a benchmark for
the long-term bond market.
* Gold represents the afternoon
gold price as reported by the London Bullion Market Association.
The gold price is set twice
daily by the London Gold Fixing Company at 10:30 and 15:00 and is expressed in
U.S. dollars per fine troy ounce.
* The Bloomberg Commodity
Index is designed to be a highly liquid and diversified benchmark for the
commodity futures market. The Index is composed of futures contracts on 19
physical commodities and was launched on July 14, 1998.
* The DJ Equity All REIT
Total Return Index measures the total return performance of the equity
subcategory of the Real Estate Investment Trust (REIT) industry as calculated
by Dow Jones.
* Yahoo! Finance is the
source for any reference to the performance of an index between two specific
periods.
* Opinions expressed are subject
to change without notice and are not intended as investment advice or to
predict future performance.
* Economic forecasts set
forth may not develop as predicted and there can be no guarantee that
strategies promoted will be successful.
* Past performance does not
guarantee future results. Investing involves risk, including loss of principal.
* You cannot invest directly
in an index.
* Consult your financial
professional before making any investment decision.
* Stock investing involves
risk including loss of principal.
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Sources:
https://finance.yahoo.com/quote/^DJI/history?period1=560149200&period2=561790800&interval=1d&filter=history&frequency=1d (or go to https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/peakcontent/+Peak+Commentary/10-23-17_YahooFinance-DJIA_16-21_Oct_2017-Footnote_1.pdf)
http://www.barrons.com/articles/whats-really-driving-this-stock-market-higher-1508556386 (or go to https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/peakcontent/+Peak+Commentary/10-23-17_Barrons-Whats_Really_Driving_this_Stock_Market_Higher-Footnote_4.pdf)
https://www.ft.com/content/f43097dc-b53b-11e7-aa26-bb002965bce8 (or go to https://s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/peakcontent/+Peak+Commentary/10-23-17_FinancialTimes-US_Stocks_and_Dollar_Bolstered_by_Tax_Reform_Hopes-Footnote_5.pdf)
