Q1 2018 Quarterly Economic Update

The News You Need To Know | April 2018
A review of Q1 2018

THE QUARTER IN BRIEF
Stocks rallied in January, corrected in February, and slumped in March as volatility and economic policy changes took some of the enthusiasm out of the market. The Trump administration announced tariffs on foreign steel, aluminum, and assorted products from China; China soon said that it would reciprocate with excise taxes of its own. The Federal Reserve adjusted the federal funds rate upward and welcomed a new chair; the White House appointed a new chief economic advisor. The Nasdaq Composite advanced for the first quarter, but the Dow 30 and S&P 500 did not; most major Asian and European benchmarks also retreated. The placid market climate of 2017 vanished, giving way to trading sessions marked by significant ups and downs.¹

DOMESTIC ECONOMIC HEALTH
A protectionist trade strategy emerged from the nation’s capital in March. The Trump administration declared that a 25% tariff would be instituted on imported steel and a 10% tariff on imported aluminum. Some countries were given short-term exemptions from these excise taxes: Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Mexico, South Korea, and members of the European Union. Additionally, up to $60 billion in Chinese imports would soon face excise taxes. China retaliated at the end of the quarter, imposing import charges of either 15% or 25% on 128 U.S. products, including pork and fruits.²

Elsewhere in Washington, the Janet Yellen era gave way to the Jerome Powell era at the Federal Reserve. Weeks after Powell took over as Fed chair, the central bank made its first interest rate adjustment of the year, a 0.25% hike that set the target range for the federal funds rate at 1.50%-1.75%. The Fed’s updated dot-plot forecast, reflecting the consensus opinion of its policymakers, projected two more hikes this year: three in 2019 and two in 2020. All that would leave the benchmark interest rate around 3.4%, according to the dot-plot. The Trump administration hired former Reagan administration official and CNBC commentator Larry Kudlow as its new chief economic advisor, following the resignation of Gary Cohn.^3,4

Business growth looked good in the first quarter; correspondingly, so did hiring. The headline jobless rate stayed at 4.1% in January and February, and the U-6 rate, counting the underemployed, remained at 8.2% in both those months.⁵

Inflation became a worry during the quarter, but fears that it was running away subsided. There was a half-percent spike in the headline Consumer Price Index in January, plus a 0.3% gain for the core CPI. A month later, both the headline and core CPI moved but 0.2%. By February, annualized consumer inflation was running at 2.2%, core inflation at 1.8%.

REAL ESTATE
In the first quarter, home loans certainly became more expensive. On March 29, Freddie Mac’s Primary Mortgage Market Survey showed the interest rate on a conventional mortgage at 4.44%, up from 3.99% on December 28. Rates also climbed for 15-year FRMs and 5/1-year ARMs. Average interest on the 15-year fixed rose from 3.44% to 3.90% in the same time frame, and from 3.47% to 3.66% for the 5-year adjustable-rate home loan.^{17, 18}

LOOKING BACK…LOOKING FORWARD
At the end of Q1, the Nasdaq Composite had managed a decent YTD advance, unlike the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, or Russell 2000. (The Russell also had a negative quarter, losing 0.40%.)^18,19

Sources: wsj.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov – 3/29/18 ^{1,21,22,23,24} Indices are unmanaged, do not incur fees or expenses, and cannot be invested into directly. These returns do not include dividends.

As a tough quarter for stocks becomes history, signs of a trade war have surfaced. What could the second quarter hold? All three major indices (and oil futures) sold off significantly as Q2 began. Investors hope that the March jobs report and the start of a new earnings season will restore some optimism to the market. Housing and retail sales aside, fundamental economic indicators have looked good for the most part. The anticipation (and results) of this coming earnings season could take investors’ minds off recent headwinds, but a continuation of the marked volatility we witnessed in the first quarter would not be a surprise. If earnings can distract Wall Street away from concerns about trade, the slump in tech shares, and the Fed’s plans for tightening; then, the tone might be set for a better month and quarter than some investors expect. For now, the feeling that a promising year for equities might turn into a poor one persists.²⁵

This material was prepared by MarketingPro, Inc., and does not necessarily represent the views of the presenting party, nor their affiliates. The information herein has been derived from sources believed to be accurate. Please note – investing involves risk, and past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investments will fluctuate and when redeemed may be worth more or less than when originally invested. This information should not be construed as investment, tax or legal advice and may not be relied on for the purpose of avoiding any Federal tax penalty. This is neither a solicitation nor recommendation to purchase or sell any investment or insurance product or service, and should not be relied upon as such. Indices do not incur management fees, costs and expenses, and cannot be invested into directly. All economic and performance data is historical and not indicative of future results. The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted index of 30 actively traded blue-chip stocks. The NASDAQ Composite Index is a market-weighted index of all over-the-counter common stocks traded on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System. The Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) is a market-cap weighted index composed of the common stocks of 500 leading companies in leading industries of the U.S. economy. NYSE Group, Inc. (NYSE:NYX) operates two securities exchanges: the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) and NYSE Arca (formerly known as the Archipelago Exchange, or ArcaEx®, and the Pacific Exchange). NYSE Group is a leading provider of securities listing, trading and market data products and services. The New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. (NYMEX) is the world’s largest physical commodity futures exchange and the preeminent trading forum for energy and precious metals, with trading conducted through two divisions – the NYMEX Division, home to the energy, platinum, and palladium markets, and the COMEX Division, on which all other metals trade. The Hang Seng Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization-weighted stock market index that is the main indicator of the overall market performance in Hong Kong. The FTSE 100 Index is a share index of the 100 most highly capitalized companies listed on the London Stock Exchange. The DAX 30 is a Blue Chip stock market index consisting of the 30 major German companies trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. Nikkei 225 (Ticker: ^N225) is a stock market index for the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE). The Nikkei average is the most watched index of Asian stocks. The S&P/TSX Composite Index is an index of the stock (equity) prices of the largest companies on the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) as measured by market capitalization. The All Ordinaries (XAO) is considered a total market barometer for the Australian stock market and contains the 500 largest ASX-listed companies by way of market capitalization. The SSE Composite Index is an index of all stocks (A shares and B shares) that are traded at the Shanghai Stock Exchange. The CAC-40 Index is a narrow-based, modified capitalization-weighted index of 40 companies listed on the Paris Bourse. BSE Sensex or Bombay Stock Exchange Sensitivity Index is a value-weighted index composed of 30 stocks that started January 1, 1986. The MSCI World Index is a free-float weighted equity index that includes developed world markets, and does not include emerging markets. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is a float-adjusted market capitalization index consisting of indices in more than 25 emerging economies. The U.S. Dollar Index (USDX, DXY, DX) is an index (or measure) of the value of the United States dollar relative to a basket of foreign currencies, often referred to as a basket of U.S. trade partner currencies. The Russell 2000 Index is a small-cap stock market index of the bottom 2,000 stocks in the Russell 3000 Index. The PHLX Oil Service Sector Index (OSX) is a modified market weighted index composed of companies involved in the oil services sector. The CBOE Volatility Index® is a key measure of market expectations of near-term volatility conveyed by S&P 500 stock index option prices. Additional risks are associated with international investing, such as currency fluctuations, political and economic instability and differences in accounting standards. This material represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific point in time and is not intended to be a forecast of future events, or a guarantee of future results. MarketingPro, Inc. is not affiliated with any person or firm that may be providing this information to you. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional.

Citations.

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