I’m not going to sugar coat it: We are in a dodging rain drops type of market as every day a handful of stocks break down, and then continue to fall apart in the days that follow.
The same culprits continue to plague the market: historically heightened levels of inflation, upcoming Fed rate hikes, and escalating geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine, with growth sectors taking the brunt of the pain. Last week the Dow lost 1.9%, the S&P 500 fell 1.6% and the tech-heavy Nasdaq dropped 1.8%. Year-to-date the Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq are lower by 6.2%, 8.8% and 13.4%, respectively.
Until we see some clarity in the areas of concern, the market could be in for some more rocky days/weeks like we have experienced since November, and that’s OK and normal.