In 2018, U.S. stocks have lost more value in the month of December than during any other December since 1931. With the Federal Reserve now slowly raising rates, risky bets are being reevaluated, and market volatility has returned. Reuters reports:
…the benchmark S&P 500 index began the trading session almost 8 percent lower for December.
“We’re facing the biggest December fall in U.S. stocks since 1931 and this is striking and worrying at the same time,” said Chris Bailey, European strategist at international financial services firm Raymond James. “We are at a regime shift moment and the debate is how big that regime shift will be.”
A speech by Chinese President Xi Jinping, which investors had hoped could lift morale, had little impact, with Chinese shares falling over 1 percent. Japan’s Nikkei lost 1.8 percent.
Risky assets like those in the Nasdaq Composite Index (total return) are now trading 2.27% below where they finished last year. Meanwhile, Young Research’s maximum safety Dynamic Maximizers® portfolio is up about 34.5 basis points over the same time period. The Dynamic Maximizers® portfolio has not experienced a down year this century, and we anticipate another up year in 2018.
