Happy Halloween! No “tricks” were played on us from our financial markets this week as stocks closed at record highs fueled by broad and generally robust corporate earnings announcements. Two of the market’s biggest companies, Amazon and Apple did stumble slightly, but that did little to derail the overall positive momentum we continue to see. I mentioned in an early letter this month that we had begun to see some rotation from the high-flying tech sector into more value and catch-up plays across other segments of the marketplace. I still view this as being a healthy and normal rotation of money from the high growth stories of 2020 into a broader and more diversified portfolio base.
President Biden announced on Thursday that both sides are finally near an agreement to get infrastructure and social spending programs in motion. This has been a significant hurdle to overcome and surely comes with much political capital being spent. The final bills have yet to hit the Senate and House floors respectively, but it appears we are finally moving in that direction. If there is one thing we know for certain, the markets like clarity. It also appears that some of the heavy tax hike talk we had been hearing and reading about is being significantly watered down. Again, another positive for the markets.
I recently read the article highlighted below from Cathie Wood, a highly respected and regarded investment manager. Her take on inflation, supply chains and the impact technology have on our lives is very interesting and worth reading. I welcome your takeaways and feedback. Aside from the debt ceiling issues coming in early December, things do seem to be setting up for another solid year across the board. Let’s just hope I haven’t spoken to soon.
Now go enjoy your weekend and have a few “treats”, you deserve it!
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/28/stock-market-futures-open-to-close-news.html
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/10/29/pfizer-covid-vaccine-fda-authorizes-for-kids-ages-5-to-11.html