John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended November 13th
Improved outlook
More than a month into the fourth quarter, Wall Street analysts have lifted their earnings expectations for the period. During October, analysts raised their earnings forecasts for companies in the S&P 500 by 1.8%, on average, according to FactSet. It’s just the third time since 2011 that forecasts have increased over the first month of a quarter.
Yield volatility
The market for government bonds was choppy for the second week in a row, as the yield of the 10-year note closed on Tuesday at 0.98%, the highest in nearly eight months. By the end of the week, the yield slipped to around 0.89%; as recently as late September, it was just 0.66%.
Shifting momentum
Stocks followed an uneven path to mostly positive returns for the week, although the S&P 500’s overall gain paled in comparison with the prior week’s 7% surge. The index finished the latest week at a record high—up more than 2% after posting strong gains on Monday and Friday but a steep decline on Thursday.
Small-cap surge
U.S. small-cap stocks outperformed the broader market by a wide margin, as the Russell 2000 Index, a small-cap benchmark, climbed around 6%. At Friday’s close, the index was up 20% from a recent low on September 23.
Source: https://wmr.jhinvestments.com/