S&P 500 Falls For 3rd Straight Week

 “The most important quality for an investor is temperament, not intellect. You need a temperament that neither derives great pleasure from being with the crowd or against the crowd.” – Warren Buffett

Good evening:

Markets closed down for the third consecutive week. But our Mark Newton, Head of Technical Strategy, noted the pattern of the market hasn’t been all that bullish or bearish. Instead, we’ve been quite range-bound. Across our firm, we expect this continued volatility into year-end. Defensive groups (Utilities, Energy, Financials) continued to outperform this week, while technology struggled. But maybe a Santa Claus rally is in store.

For much of this week, investors primarily focused on recession worries, debating whether Fed’s tightening efforts had gone too far. On Wednesday, we saw a brief respite: positive results from Nike and FedEx buoyed markets.

Nike beat top- and bottom-line expectations and reported YoY progress in clearing the significant inventory surplus it had accumulated due to previous supply-chain difficulties. The company also reported improvement in its strategic shift away from wholesalers toward direct online sales. While FedEx revenues missed expectations, EPS results beat estimates. Perhaps more importantly, the compan...