The S&P 500 had a flat week hovering around the 3000 mark before closing at 2992 on Friday after Chinese officials cancelled a trip to U.S. farms and headed back to China. Last week we mentioned the Fed meeting on Wednesday and as expected, they lowered rates by 25 basis points. The Fed described the U.S. economy as "stable" and the markets got a boost from the interest rate cut, but looming trade news between US and China continue to move the markets on a daily basis. That said, if you look at this market from strictly a date to date perspective, it is essentially flat. Looking back one year to 20 September 2018, the S&P 500 closed at record high 2930, or about 2 percent of where we are now. However, that record high was then followed by the loss of nearly 20 percent over the next three months with the S&P 500 closing at 2351 on Christmas Eve 2018. Hopefully the next breakout will be to the bullish side and the strong economic data will outweigh the trade worries. For TSP TIPS, the TSP equity funds (C/S/I) mimicked the S&P 500 and took a breather this week. Since we have used both reallocations for the month and there isn\'t cause to reduce equity exposure, we will continue with our current recommendation.
The S&P 500 had a flat week hovering around the 3000 mark before closing at 2992 on Friday after Chinese officials cancelled a trip to U.S. farms and headed back to China. Last week we mentioned the Fed meeting on Wednesday and as expected, they lowered rates by 25 basis points. The Fed described the U.S. economy as "stable" and the markets got a boost from the interest rate cut, but looming trade news between US and China continue to move the markets on a daily basis. That said, if you look at this market from strictly a date to date perspective, it is essentially flat. Looking back one year to 20 September 2018, the S&P 500 closed at record high 2930, or about 2 percent of where we are now. However, that record high was then followed by the loss of nearly 20 percent over the next three months with the S&P 500 closing at 2351 on Christmas Eve 2018. Hopefully the next breakout will be to the bullish side and the strong economic data will outweigh the trade worries. For TSP TIPS, the TSP equity funds (C/S/I) mimicked the S&P 500 and took a breather this week. Since we have used both reallocations for the month and there isn\'t cause to reduce equity exposure, we will continue with our current recommendation.