The Markets (as of market close March 13, 2020) While the hope may have been that it couldn't get worse, unfortunately, it has. The coronavirus has not only posed a significant health threat to millions of people worldwide, but its impact has been felt economically and in the stock markets, both here and globally. Last Wednesday, the World Health Organization officially designated the coronavirus outbreak a pandemic, having reached more than 100 countries and more than 100,00

The Markets (as of market close March 6, 2020) While it apparently took a day to take effect, the Fed's decision to reduce the target range for the federal funds rate by 50 basis points quelled the massive rush to sell stocks and brought some investors back to the market. Following losses earlier in the week, the benchmark indexes surged with the Dow gaining more than 700 points last Wednesday. Unfortunately, the wild ride continued into Thursday with stocks losing most of th

The Markets (as of market close February 28, 2020) Panicked investors continued a major sell-off last week, pushing stocks to double-digit losses. Fears of a major global economic impact increased as the coronavirus continued to spread across multiple countries. By the end of last week, each of the major benchmark indexes listed here fell by more than 10%, headed by the Dow, which lost close to 12.5%. Following the Dow were the small caps of the Russell 2000, the S&P 500, the

The Markets (as of market close February 21, 2020) The run of positive weekly market gains ended last week as each of the benchmark indexes listed here lost value. The spread of the coronavirus from China to other countries has investors worried about the impact on global economies. Tech stocks were hit hard as the Nasdaq dropped 1.59%, followed by the Dow, which lost close to 1.40%. The large-cap S&P 500 fell 1.25%, followed by the Global Dow and the small caps of the Russel

The Markets (as of market close February 14, 2020) Despite the ongoing battle against the coronavirus, stocks reached record highs last week. Solid economic data, strong retail sales, and favorable corporate earnings reports helped quell investors' fears that the spread of the dreaded coronavirus would impact global economies. Each of the benchmark indexes listed here posted weekly gains, led by the Nasdaq, which advanced 2.21%, followed by an almost 2.0% bump in the small ca

The Markets (as of market close February 7, 2020) Stocks rebounded and long-term bond yields rose last week amid reports of China's plans to cut tariffs on some American imports. The S&P 500, Dow, and Nasdaq reached all-time highs during the week, and global stocks soared. Also helping push stocks higher was a round of favorable fourth-quarter corporate earnings figures and a strong labor report. Investors seemed intent on locking in gains by last week's end as stocks fell so

The Markets (as of market close January 31, 2020) Investors continue to be rattled by the growing concern over the spread of the coronavirus, pulling money from stocks for the second week in a row. Each of the benchmark indexes listed here fell, led by the small caps of the Russell 2000, which lost close to 3.0% for the week. The Dow closed the week down more than 600 points while the S&P 500 dropped by more than 2.0%. The Global Dow also gave back almost 3.0% in value by las

The Markets (as of market close January 24, 2020) Last week proved to be a tough one for the market as each of the benchmark indexes listed here lost value. Concern over the possible spread of the coronavirus from China apparently provided the impetus for investors to pull away from stocks. Long-term bond prices soared, pushing yields 15 basis points lower. The price of gold also climbed after falling the week prior. The small caps of the Russell 2000 were hit the hardest, do

The Markets (as of market close January 17, 2020) Each of the benchmark indexes listed here enjoyed strong gains last week, led by the Russell 2000, which climbed 2.53% to push its year-to-date gains to nearly 2.0%. The Dow has posted weekly gains for five of the last six weeks, the S&P 500 advanced for the second consecutive week, and the Nasdaq has risen for six straight weeks. A strong housing starts report helped push stocks higher. But investors were most encouraged by a

The Markets (as of market close January 10, 2020) Last Friday's jobs report was a mixed bag of information. While 145,000 new jobs were added and the unemployment rate remained at 3.5%, wage growth was tepid in December to cap off a year of only moderate wage growth. This information, coupled with news that the Senate would receive the articles of impeachment this week, culled what was otherwise a strong week for stocks. The Dow passed 29000 earlier last week only to pull bac