Market Update – April 16, 2018
Market volatility continues. Stocks slid on Friday, April 13, but still held on to gains for the week. The S&P 500 increased 1.99%, the Dow added 1.79%, and the NASDAQ was up 2.77%. International stocks in the MSCI EAFE also rose, gaining 1.45%.
Similar to recent weeks, international events continued to sway markets: Concerns about trade disputes affected investor behavior. Meanwhile, escalating conflict in Syria may have weighed on people’s minds.
As we track these developments, we want to share insight about another important occurrence from last week: the beginning of corporate earnings season.
1st Quarter Corporate Earnings Season
1. Expectations remain very high
Analysts anticipate a particularly strong earnings season. Thomson Reuters data predicts that S&P 500 companies’ profits were 18.6% higher in the 1st quarter of 2018 than in 2017. If accurate, this increase would be the largest since 2011.
So far, data seems on track. According to The Earnings Scout, 1st-quarter earnings growth is currently at 26.8%.
2. Banks outperform but stocks drop
On Friday, 3 major banks released their reports—and each beat projections for earnings and revenue. Despite this positive news, however, their stocks experienced sizable declines that contributed to overall market losses.
Why would strong quarterly results create stocks losses?
The markets anticipated this positive performance and had already priced it into the shares. As a result, any less-than-ideal news seemed to outweigh the expected earnings and revenue increases. In particular, 2 facts drove losses:
• 1 bank may have to pay a $1 billion penalty
• All 3 banks experienced slow loan growth
We are in the early stages of earnings season, and many major corporations still need to release their reports. In the coming weeks, we’ll continue monitoring these developments to better understand our economy. As always, please contact us if you have questions about how the data affects your finances and life.
RCM Investments is a branch office of DFPG Investments, Inc. Securities offered through DFPG Investments, Inc., member FINRA/SIPC. Investment Advisory Services offered through RCM Investments, a SEC-Registered Investment Advisor. DFPG and RCM Investments are not affiliated.
Past performance of investments is no indication of future results.
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/13/us-stock-futures-dow-data-earnings-tech-and-politics-on-the-agenda.html
http://performance.morningstar.com/Performance/index-c/performance-return.action?t=SPX®ion=usa&culture=en-US
http://performance.morningstar.com/Performance/index-c/performance-return.action?t=%21DJI®ion=usa&culture=en-US
http://performance.morningstar.com/Performance/index-c/performance-return.action?t=@CCO
https://www.msci.com/end-of-day-data-search
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/13/us-stock-futures-dow-data-earnings-tech-and-politics-on-the-agenda.html
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/wall-street-falls-as-bank-stocks-syria-conflict-weigh-idUSKBN1HK1KH
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/wall-street-falls-as-bank-stocks-syria-conflict-weigh-idUSKBN1HK1KH
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/13/us-stock-futures-dow-data-earnings-tech-and-politics-on-the-agenda.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/13/us-stock-futures-dow-data-earnings-tech-and-politics-on-the-agenda.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/04/15/from-geopolitics-to-earnings-what-will-move-markets-most-ahead.html
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/wall-street-falls-as-bank-stocks-syria-conflict-weigh-idUSKBN1HK1KH