Chaos Abounds
At the risk of stating the obvious, this is shaping up to be a very eventful fall. Undoubtedly, there is a lot of chaos going on around us right now in the form of all the election noise, US dockworkers going on strike, Hurricane Helene and its aftermath, and the turmoil in the Middle East. If you are overloading your brain with all this information, it would be easy to start panicking on the investment front.
Still, Some Good News
But there is some good news in that the Fed’s first rate cut is in the books with more cuts expected into the 1st quarter of 2025. While consumer prices are still high, the rate of inflation has slowed significantly this past year. Earnings season for the 3rd quarter starts in a few weeks, so we’ll be keeping an eye on that, as well.
Uptrend Continues
In spite of all the chaos and noise, the markets are still in an uptrend. Below is a long-term weekly chart of the S&P 500. In 2013 the S&P 500 cleared its all-time high from the year 2000, and we have been continually making new highs. There were some notable downturns during this time frame, like the 2020 Covid pullback, but that was short-lived, and we have stayed above the blue trend line ever since.
If you are an investor with a long-term timeframe, this chart should help give you some perspective from a 30,000 foot view. Though there will certainly be another secular bear market somewhere in the future, it’s nowhere on the horizon.
The best advice is to stay calm, keep a good perspective, and take some profits every now and then to have some cash ready for when a good opportunity presents itself.
_______________________________________________________________________________
This post is for informational purposes only. It is not intended as investment advice as each person’s financial situation is different. I strongly recommend working with a financial advisor who can deliver current information to you quickly and offer help with sorting through the various investing options. Bret Wilson is a Financial Advisor with Wilson Investment Services, based in Rockwall, Texas.
Recent Comments