S&P 500 posted best quarter since 1998 with nearly 20% gains despite COVID case records
F fund hit new record high; current TSP allocation recommended with no changes needed
Market consolidation expected through November due to election uncertainty
It was a “record” week from two different perspectives. The first was on the COVID front where the U.S. reported a daily record of more than 50,000 new cases on Wednesday. The second was on the economic front with a record 4.8 million jobs created in June and the S&P 500 finishing the second quarter with a gain of almost 20%, its best since 1998. But let’s not forget that we were also coming off historic job and market losses. Remember that the S&P 500 lost one third of its value between 19 February and 23 March of this year, and that requires and 50 percent gain to get back to the break even point. This week the S&P 500 had gains all four days and closed the week at 3130, about right in the middle of that 230 point range bound channel between 3002 and 3232. As mentioned in my 12 June update, this could be reminiscent of the summer of 2019 when we had a flat consolidating market until we broke out to the upside in mid-October. Election year uncertainty may drive this year’s current consolidation into November. For TSP TIPS, we also participated in these weekly gains and it should be noted that the F fund hit a new record high on Thursday. As such we are recommending no changes to our current allocation. Lastly, we wish all our TSP TIPS subscriber’s a very happy 4th of July long weekend.
It was a “record” week from two different perspectives. The first was on the COVID front where the U.S. reported a daily record of more than 50,000 new cases on Wednesday. The second was on the economic front with a record 4.8 million jobs created in June and the S&P 500 finishing the second quarter with a gain of almost 20%, its best since 1998. But let’s not forget that we were also coming off historic job and market losses. Remember that the S&P 500 lost one third of its value between 19 February and 23 March of this year, and that requires and 50 percent gain to get back to the break even point. This week the S&P 500 had gains all four days and closed the week at 3130, about right in the middle of that 230 point range bound channel between 3002 and 3232. As mentioned in my 12 June update, this could be reminiscent of the summer of 2019 when we had a flat consolidating market until we broke out to the upside in mid-October. Election year uncertainty may drive this year’s current consolidation into November. For TSP TIPS, we also participated in these weekly gains and it should be noted that the F fund hit a new record high on Thursday. As such we are recommending no changes to our current allocation. Lastly, we wish all our TSP TIPS subscriber’s a very happy 4th of July long weekend.