Market Overview
Sources: Sources for data in tables: Equity Market and Fixed Income returns are from JP Morgan as of 09/20/19. Rates and Economic Calendar Data from Bloomberg as of 09/20/19. International developed markets measured by the MSCI EAFE Index, emerging markets measured by the MSCI EM Index. Sector performance is measured using GICS methodology.
Happening Now
Global capital markets took a break from a multi-week expansion, retreating moderately last week. In the U.S., the S&P 500 Index fell to a level of 2992, representing a loss of 0.49%, while the Russell Midcap Index fell 0.27% for the week. The Russell 2000 Index, a measure of the Nation’s smallest publicly traded firms, followed suit with a decline of 1.14%. On the international equities front, developed markets moved 0.35% lower, while emerging markets lost 0.45%. Finally, the 10 year U.S. Treasury yield continued to give-up ground, finishing out the week at just 1.74%.
Since the onset of the Federal Reserve’s (“Fed”) resumption of monetary easing, we’ve made our views very clear. We did not believe that the Fed was warranted in cutting interest rates 0.25% in July, nor do we believe that another 0.25% cut was necessary this past Wednesday. Many proponents of low-interest rates argue that the cut is absolutely necessary given the global context. The argument is underpinned by the fact that central banks around the globe have moved to lower short-term rates, subsequently depreciating their respective currencies, and increasing the relative value of the U.S. dollar. A strong U.S. dollar makes it more difficult for U.S. businesses to export goods, ultimately weighing on overall economic growth. This rationale is economically sound but disregards the most important consideration; the current economic well-being of the United States, which we believe to be quite strong considering the following.
• Consumer spending and retail sales reports continue to impress
• The unemployment rate is at a historically low level of 3.7% and companies continue to hire
• Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth appears firmly planted slightly above the Federal Reserve’s long-term potential growth rate of 1.9%
• Inflation, one of the Fed’s key stated objectives, has steadily risen and Core CPI currently stands at 2.4% year-over-year
• Private sector wages are up 3.2% year-over-year
• 10-year Treasury yields are well below inflation, indicating that financial conditions are relatively easy and that interest rates are low enough where they stand today
The six bullet points above speak to an economy that is “Slowing but Growing”, with the operative word being growing. We, as Americans, need the Federal Reserve to stand as the lender of last resort in periods of economic turmoil, but they can only do so if they have available stimulus tools in their arsenal. Racing to join Japan and the European Union in negative interest rate territory will leave the Fed void of the ammunition they potentially may need to fight the next major economic crisis.
To say that we’re moving into uncharted territory is an understatement which is why we continue to encourage investors to stay disciplined and work with experienced financial professionals to help manage their portfolios through various market cycles within an appropriately diversified framework that is consistent with their objectives, time-frame, and tolerance for risk.
Important Information and Disclaimers
Disclosures: Hennion & Walsh is the sponsor of SmartTrust® Unit Investment Trusts (UITs). For more information on SmartTrust® UITs, please visit www.smarttrustuit.com. The overview above is for informational purposes and is not an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any SmartTrust® UITs. Investors should consider the Trust’s investment objective, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other information relevant to an investment in the Trust and investors should read the prospectus carefully before they invest.
Investing in foreign securities presents certain risks not associated with domestic investments, such as currency fluctuation, political and economic instability, and different accounting standards. This may result in greater share price volatility. These risks are heightened in emerging markets.
There are special risks associated with an investment in real estate, including credit risk, interest rate fluctuations and the impact of varied economic conditions. Distributions from REIT investments are taxed at the owner’s tax bracket.
The prices of small company and mid cap stocks are generally more volatile than large company stocks. They often involve higher risks because smaller companies may lack the management expertise, financial resources, product diversification and competitive strengths to endure adverse economic conditions.
Investing in commodities is not suitable for all investors. Exposure to the commodities markets may subject an investment to greater share price volatility than an investment in traditional equity or debt securities. Investments in commodities may be affected by changes in overall market movements, commodity index volatility, changes in interest rates or factors affecting a particular industry or commodity.
Products that invest in commodities may employ more complex strategies which may expose investors to additional risks.
Investing in fixed income securities involves certain risks such as market risk if sold prior to maturity and credit risk especially if investing in high yield bonds, which have lower ratings and are subject to greater volatility. All fixed income investments may be worth less than original cost upon redemption or maturity. Bond Prices fluctuate inversely to changes in interest rates. Therefore, a general rise in interest rates can result in the decline of the value of your investment.
Definitions
MSCI- EAFE: The Morgan Stanley Capital International Europe, Australasia and Far East Index, a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure developed-market equity performance, excluding the United States and Canada.
MSCI-Emerging Markets: The Morgan Stanley Capital International Emerging Market Index, is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index that is designed to measure the performance of global emerging markets of about 25 emerging economies.
Russell 3000: The Russell 3000 measures the performance of the 3000 largest US companies based on total market capitalization and represents about 98% of the investible US Equity market.
ML BOFA US Corp Mstr [Merill Lynch US Corporate Master]: The Merrill Lynch Corporate Master Market Index is a statistical composite tracking the performance of the entire US corporate bond market over time.
ML Muni Master [Merill Lynch US Corporate Master]: The Merrill Lynch Municipal Bond Master Index is a broad measure of the municipal fixed income market.
Investors cannot directly purchase any index.
LIBOR, London Interbank Offered Rate, is the rate of interest at which banks offer to lend money to one another in the wholesale money markets in London.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is an unweighted index of 30 “blue-chip” industrial U.S. stocks.
The S&P Midcap 400 Index is a capitalization-weighted index measuring the performance of the mid-range sector of the U.S. stock market, and represents approximately 7% of the total market value of U.S. equities. Companies in the Index fall between S&P 500 Index and the S&P SmallCap 600 Index in size: between $1-4 billion.
DJ Equity REIT Index represents all publicly traded real estate investment trusts in the Dow Jones U.S. stock universe classified as Equity REITs according to the S&P Dow Jones Indices REIT Industry Classification Hierarchy. These companies are REITs that primarily own and operate income-producing real estate.