The Financial Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLF)
- Yahoo Finance Video
401(k) investing, food price inflation, holiday shopping: Wealth!
On today's episode of Wealth!, Host Brad Smith breaks down key personal finance stories, from anticipated interest rate cuts to a lookahead to the holiday shopping. Traders have been pricing in a 25-basis-point interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve at its September meeting next week. Crescent Grove Advisors co-chief investment officer Andrew Krei notes that the labor market has been increasingly in focus since July's jobs report saw the unemployment rate hit 4.3%, sparking fears of a recession. However, he believes that the labor market data shows the economy "softening off of an ultra-hot level" rather than indicating the beginnings of a recession. According to new data from Fidelity, there are now almost half a million 401(k) plan participants with balances of at least $1 million in their accounts. UBS financial advisor Tracy Byrnes encourages retirement savers to not "set it and forget it," and explains the importance of revisiting a retirement account to rebalance and diversify. She warns, "What was good when you started working 20 years ago might not still work today." The latest Conference Board Consumer Confidence Survey shows Americans are still under pressure from high prices, as necessities like food are straining budgets and wallets. Former USDA economist and Cal Poly professor of agribusiness Richard Volpe explains that in 2021 and 2022, "we saw food prices increase at a clip that we hadn't seen in the US since the 1970s." He notes that while inflation has cooled across the board, food prices have not fallen. As the holidays are right around the corner, retail sales are likely to increase between 2.3% and 3.3% from 2023, according to Deloitte's annual holiday retail forecast. Deloitte Consulting retail and consumer products leader Michael Jeschke believes that retailers with omnichannel approaches will likely outperform this holiday season, expecting a 7% to 9% acceleration as they "are best able to meet consumers where they are." This post was written by Melanie Riehl
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Bank stocks, Q3 earnings estimates: Market Takeaways
The tech sector led the charge for the tech-heavy S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) on Tuesday, holding onto some gains after last week's sell-off. However, Big Bank stocks took a hit in the trading session after Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr announced updated capital requirement regulations for banks. Meanwhile, historical patterns are coming to fruition as third quarter earnings estimates are being cut and the election will likely create more market volatility (^VIX). Yahoo Finance Markets Reporter Josh Schafer joins Asking for a Trend to break down his key takeaways from the trading day. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Asking for a Trend. This post was written by Melanie Riehl
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JPMorgan's stock price right now is a 'steal,' strategist says
US stocks (^DJI,^GSPC, ^IXIC) are mixed in Tuesday's trading session as investors prepare for a rocky month ahead. Fundstrat Global Advisors managing director and global head of technical strategy Mark Newton joins Market Domination to discuss market trends and how investors should prepare for the year-end. Big Bank stocks, in particular, are under pressure after the Federal Reserve proposed new capital requirement regulations for banks that would seek easements on their capital holdings while scaling back other requirements. Newtown notes that financials (XLF) are the second-largest sector in the S&P 500 after technology (XLK), and that today's movement is "a minor pullback." He highlights that banks have been up about 10% over the last three months, and the pullback is "on the heels of really robust gains in this sector." Newton finds the broader market picture to be "pretty healthy," pointing to new all-time highs in technology, financials, healthcare (XLV), industrials (XLI), and utilities (XLU). While the tech sector is under pressure, he believes that it has "not broken down substantially enough to think that tech is broken." "We have this huge amount of contentiousness and divisiveness regarding the election. Of course, two wars overseas. A lot to get us unhappy about. Earnings, though, have been remarkably good, and the stock market itself has been good," Newton tells Yahoo Finance. "So, you know, let's not get too bent out of shape about, granted, some understandable major pullback in some of the semiconductor stocks. I don't think it's been damaging enough to say that the market has peaked out honestly. But it is an uncomfortable time for many investors." Wall Street is also paying extra close attention to the Federal Reserve as it moves forward with its first interest rate cut, and Newtown anticipates an interest rate cut of 35 basis points. He notes that when the Fed has cut between 25 and 50 basis points historically, it's been "troublesome." "My thinking is the market ends the year probably at 5,800 or higher, and the best times of any election year typically tend to be buying weakness into the election November into next spring really should be the sweet spot for investors. So if you want to make money in this day and age, you know, in this time period between now and the election, you have to be very well diversified," Newton says. He recommends the healthcare sector and financials, calling JPMorgan Chase & Co's (JPM) stock price — currently around $200 per share — a "steal." He also stresses the importance of being diversified, especially as a broad-based recovery lies for the market after the election. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Market Domination. This post was written by Melanie Riehl
