Sectors
October Market Action
With most indexes declining during October, it was not a bad month to have a portion of the asset allocation portfolio hedged.
September Market Action
Going into September, there was little expectation that equities would perform strongly in the coming month, and by that token, the market did not disappoint.
August Market Action
Considering the menace of record high oil prices and the devastation caused by Katrina— two topics which dominated the national headlines in August— stocks held up relatively well.
Revisiting Sector Profit Margins: Data Now Expanded Back The 1950s
On an aggregate basis, we see little room for further margin improvement, but there are select areas we believe may yet be poised for additional (slight/moderate) expansion.
July Market Action
Strong July stock market could continue into the dog days of August.
Half Time Equity Group Review– Checking In On The Year’s Leaders And Laggards
Half Time Report: What’s “Hot” and what’s “Not”. Group leaders and laggards for YTD, Q2 and June market action.
May Market Action
For those who were having trouble remembering what positive returns felt like, May’s stock market strength probably came as welcomed relief.
April Market Action
The YTD performance gap between large caps and small caps continues to widen.
Recent S&P Sector Weight Trends Within The Current Bull Market
The S&P 500’s largest and most rapidly increasing sectors.
March Market Action
Market is very oversold after the March decline, and a near term rally is expected soon.
Profit Margins At The Sector Level
An expanded discussion of profit margins broken out by broad sectors. Expect some expansion still in Materials and Energy, as well as possibly Tech. Contraction anticipated in Financials, Consumer Discretionary and Telecom.
February Market Action
Right out of the gates, February’s stock market performance quickly erased the declines posted in January. But by month end, the S&P 500 had given back some of the ground gained in the first half.
Profit Margins At The Sector Level
Jim Floyd has begun analyzing the profit margins broken down by broad equity sectors. He also looks at some of the factors which may have a specific impact on the margins.
Take A Wait And See Attitude For February
February sure came in like a bull, with the S&P 500 already up 1.8% through February 4th, while the NASDAQ has risen 1.1%.
Did You Have The Right Mix In 2004?
Small Cap Stocks were hands down winners relative to large caps, while just edging out mid caps. This is the fifth consecutive year of small cap superiority.
Crossroads For The Bull
Many of our historical cycle studies are indicating that the stock market and U.S. economy are now getting past their prime, and may be running on borrowed time.
Impressive Select Industries Performance
Performance of the Select Industries Portfolio was very impressive during November (+10.7%), and easily outperformed the S&P 500 (+4.0%).
Scanning The Markets
Many of the past summer’s trends reversed last month, as September saw a bounce in “smid” caps and in the tech sector.
Scanning The Markets
August produced very little movement in the major market indices, which was not so bad considering a difficult July.
Scanning The Markets
May’s late rally extended into June to the delight of market bulls.
Perception for the Professional
March 2026 Issue
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Sector Navigator
March 2026 Issue
