Riding the Market Roller Coaster

Thought of the Week / July 23, 2021

This has been a roller coaster of a week for the stock market. On Monday, the Dow Jones lost more than 700 points, which is the worst one-day decline in 2021. However, in just four days, the index has recovered and is now up approximately 1% for the week.
 
The market plummet has been tied to concerns about a rise in coronavirus cases associated with the delta variant. The main fear was that this strain will slow down economic recovery, but a treasury yields bounce quickly eased worry about another economic shutdown. The stocks that were hit the hardest, including airline and cruise companies, led the recovery and regained their losses. 

As worries eased and positive corporate earnings came in, all three major indexes posted gains for the week. As of 2PM today, the S&P 500 is up 1.95% and the Nasdaq Composite is up 2.8%. Both are also within 1% of their intraday records.
 
Next week, AAPL, MSFT, FB, GOOGL, & AMZN are all due to report their most recent quarter financial statements. These are some of the largest companies in the world by market cap, and these earnings reports will likely sway the market, so we will be sure to keep you updated.
 
This week’s extreme market drop and quick recovery confirms, once again, the importance of sticking with your plan and not making rash decisions during a market correction. Remember to keep a long-term focus on the recovery of our economy and on your retirement plan.