Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Startled By Inflation, Conflict Presented by Cornerstone Financial Advisory, LLC   Stocks fell last week as investors sorted through conflicting inflation reports and assessed geopolitical tensions. Inflation Spooks Markets On Wednesday, the March Consumer Price Index (CPI) report rattled markets, revealing that inflation accelerated slightly more than expected. Bond yields rose, and stocks retreated in response, as investors feared the news could influence the Fed’s rate decision. The 10-year Treasury yield had its highest intraday jump in three years ..read more

Weekly Market Insights: Fed Comments Stir The Pot For Stocks Presented by Cornerstone Financial Advisory, LLC Stocks dropped last week as investors focused on “what’s next” for interest rates after mixed comments from multiple Fed officials. Fed Officials Weigh In Stocks struggled out of the gate again last week, ending Monday and Tuesday in the red on concerns that recent economic data could derail the Fed’s plan for short-term rates. The markets recovered Wednesday through Thursday morning when weekly jobless claims were better than expected. But stocks fell broadly Thursday afternoon fo ..read more

Weekly Market Insights: Fed Talk Boosts Stocks Presented by Cornerstone Financial Advisory, LLC   Stocks posted their best week of the year, sparked by news that the dovish Fed decided to keep rates steady and signaled three rate cuts were still possible this year. Stocks Bounce Back As widely expected, the Fed left rates unchanged at the conclusion of its two-day meeting. But somewhat less expected, the Fed signaled its inclination to cut interest rates three times this year—each time by a quarter percentage point. That was a positive surprise for some, who worried that recent hot in ..read more

Weekly Market Insights: Second Week Of Stock Retreat Presented by Cornerstone Financial Advisory, LLC     Stocks fell for the second straight week on inflation concerns despite a report on consumer prices that was initially well received by investors. Stocks Slide Tuesday was the only bright spot during the week as stock prices rose after the Labor Department report showed the Consumer Price Index rose 3.2% in February compared with a year earlier. It was a bit warmer than economists expected but cooler than investors feared. The news sparked a day-long rally, with the Standard ..read more

Weekly Market Insights: Markets Take A Breather After Mixed Week Presented by Cornerstone Financial Advisory, LLC Stocks were down for the week as investors appeared to take some profits and traders parsed Fed Chair Jerome Powell’s Congressional testimony. Markets Wobble  Stocks had a rough start to the week, with the Dow, S&P 500, and Nasdaq each off more than one percent on Tuesday alone. Mega-cap tech stocks were under pressure as investors appeared to take some profits. Markets clawed back much of their losses on Wednesday and Thursday, with the Fed Chair’s upbeat comments to ..read more

Weekly Market Insights: Tech And AI Lead Another Advancing Week Presented by Cornerstone Financial Advisory, LLC     Stocks extended their tech-led advance last week as signs of a resilient and still-enthusiastic consumer boosted momentum. Nasdaq Sets New High Stocks traded in a narrow band early in the week but ended the five-trading sessions with a powerful advance. While the Dow dipped lower, artificial intelligence (AI) names powered the gains in the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite. The Nasdaq bobbed around the 16,000 level for most of the week before posting consecutive ..read more

Weekly Market Insights: Stocks Hit New Highs On AI’s Promise Presented by Cornerstone Financial Advisory, LLC   Stocks vaulted to new heights last week on the back of an artificial intelligence (AI) semiconductor company, marking investors’ belief that AI has the potential to transform the U.S. economy. Stocks Rally To Record Highs Stocks traded in a fairly tight range for the first half of the short week, yawning at the lack of economic data while awaiting earnings results from one key company that creates chips that power the artificial intelligence operations of many firms. A stro ..read more

Weekly Market Insights: Market Retreats On Inflation, Economic Reports Presented by Cornerstone Financial Advisory, LLC   Stocks fell last week as investors reacted to disappointing inflation updates and other economic reports that fell short of estimates. Stocks Snap Winning Streak Markets were quiet Monday but opened lower Tuesday in response to the January inflation report that showed higher-than-expected consumer prices. But stocks regained some momentum on Wednesday and rallied Thursday despite disappointing reports on both retail sales and industrial production for January.1,2 ..read more

Weekly Market Insights: S&P Hits Record High Presented by Cornerstone Financial Advisory, LLC   The stock market experienced solid gains last week, concluding the trading week on a positive note, thanks to robust corporate reports and favorable inflation news; this propelled the S&P 500 Index to achieve a new record high at the end of the week. S&P Tops 5,000 At the start of last week’s trading, stocks faced downward pressure due to comments by Fed Chair Powell over the weekend, signaling that the Federal Reserve had no immediate plans to initiate interest rate cuts. Conse ..read more

Weekly Market Insights: Investors Move Past Mixed Fed Message Presented by Cornerstone Financial Advisory, LLC   Stocks pushed higher last week as investors cheered mega-cap tech corporate reports and a better-than-expected employment report. Stocks At New Highs At the beginning of the week, stocks surged, anticipating fourth-quarter corporate updates from tech companies and the Federal Reserve’s two-day policy meeting; this led to the S&P 500 Index reaching a new record high on Monday. The market remained relatively stable for the rest of the week until Wednesday, when the Federa ..read more