Another quarter has come to an end, and the S&P ended it by posting its 11th straight monthly gain, and its 8th consecutive quarterly gain. Domestic oil prices rose 7.7% in September, and the NASDAQ Composite rose 6.06% during Q3, nearly a third of its total gain year to date. Strong corporate earnings seem to be one of the main drivers behind the domestic market gains, but the foreign equity markets have continued to outperform the United States markets this year.
The U.S. economy continues to grow, with the commerce department projecting GDP growth up to 3.1% annualized. President Trump’s tax cut proposals have also driven market movement upward, although there are no guarantees any of his proposed reforms will move forward. Though the political environment continues to be volatile and tense, the markets have remained strong and steady to-date.
That said, I wanted to remind you that rhetoric and decisions surrounding North Korea, hurricane relief, immigration, the debt ceiling, the national budget, and tax reform, just to name a few, can cause market movement as well as some jitters from those of us watching. However, as we’ve seen time and again, staying the course is increasingly important during times of uncertainty, some would say even more so than in times of peace.
If you need to talk through anything, please know that I am here and am constantly watching your accounts so I can alert you of anything you need to know.
Finally, I would ask that those of you who are as emotionally impacted by those suffering from the effects of the recent string of hurricanes to hit both the U.S. mainland and Puerto Rico to consider donating to the American Red Cross here: https://www.redcross.org/ns/apology/disaster_homepage.html
As always, please let me know if I can be of any help to you!