Research

Each week the LPL Financial Research team assembles thoughtful insight on market and economic news.

Adjusting The Sector Sails | Weekly Market Commentary | June 3, 2024

Adjusting The Sector Sails | Weekly Market Commentary | June 3, 2024

To say May was an eventful month for the market is an understatement. Investors navigated around the latter half of first-quarter earnings, a breakout to record highs for the broader market, elevated volatility across fixed income and currency markets, and a mixed bag of economic data — not to mention elevated political uncertainty stemming from the conviction of former President Donald Trump. Overall, markets shrugged off political uncertainty, bad economic data was mostly taken as good news for stocks by reviving hope for interest rate cuts, while good news helped write the goldilocks narrative of economic conditions being just right.

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How’s it Going? Depends on Who You Ask | Weekly Market Commentary | May 20, 2024

How’s it Going? Depends on Who You Ask | Weekly Market Commentary | May 20, 2024

Since millions of homeowners refinanced mortgages to extremely low rates a few years ago, the economy is less sensitive to interest rate policy. In fact, the Jackson Hole Economic Policy Symposium sponsored by the Kansas City Federal Reserve in August will debate the effectiveness and transmission of monetary policy because of these post-COVID-19 dynamics, likely revealing important investment implications. 

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Preferred Securities: Still Our Preferred Non-Core Bond Sector | Weekly Market Commentary | May 13, 2024

Preferred Securities: Still Our Preferred Non-Core Bond Sector | Weekly Market Commentary | May 13, 2024

It continues to be a challenging environment for a lot of fixed income markets, especially higher quality markets. With the Federal Reserve (Fed) seemingly unlikely to lower interest rates until after the summer months (at the earliest), the “higher for longer” narrative has kept a lid on any sort of bond market rally. And while falling interest rates help provide price appreciation in this higher-for-longer environment, fixed income investors are likely better served by focusing on income opportunities. That’s where preferreds come in. With yields still elevated relative to history, we think preferred securities are an attractive option for income-oriented investors.

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