Equities Extend Winning Streak

Highlights include:

• In October, U.S. equities continued their upward trend with the S&P 500 Index rising roughly 2%. The Index, comprised of the 500 largest U.S stocks, reached new all-time highs and extended its winning streak for the sixth consecutive month.
• The rally was fueled by upbeat earnings forecasts from large companies. Also, investors remain enthusiastic about artificial intelligence (AI)-driven growth, which appears to be drawing capital into AI-related stocks.
• Sentiment was dampened by concerns the Federal Reserve is becoming more cautious about cutting rates. While the Fed lowered the fed funds rate by 25 basis points, it offered no clear outlook for its next decision, due in December.
• For the year, the S&P 500 has increased 17% through October, while the MSCI EAFE Index of international stocks has risen nearly 27%. Over the first 10 months of the year, Information Technology has fueled the S&P 500’s strong return, rising nearly 30%, along with Communication Services which increased nearly 27%.
• Conversely, the weakest sectors have been Consumer Staples, Real Estate, and Materials, gaining less than 4% each on a year-to-date basis through October.

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Katharine E.W. Dudley, AIF^®
Senior Vice President, Client Advisor

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