
Markets and Economy Above the Noise: Policy uncertainty persists
The challenges of the current investment environment are well documented, so maybe it’s more interesting to talk about what could go right.
Since the early 1980s, there has been a greater than 5% drawdown in the S&P 500 Index in every year but two.
Fortunately, many of the “early warning signals” that we track do not appear to be suggesting that a recession is imminent.
The average time to recovery is three months from a 5%-10% downturn and eight months from a 10%-20% correction.
Market corrections, while common, are always unsettling. Investment strategists lose sleep too. In the midst of this current global market sell-off, I spent the wee hours reminding myself of what I’ve absorbed over the years about market corrections and volatility. Here are some important reminders to keep in mind if the current sell-off is causing you to lose sleep as well.
The challenges of the current investment environment are well documented, so maybe it’s more interesting to talk about what could go right.
While the setup for markets was good coming into 2025, they’ve struggled as investors assess ongoing changes to the US policy approach.
We discuss the future of US inflation, the outperformance of European stocks, the potential impact of new tariffs, and the independence of the Federal Reserve in this month’s column.
Important information
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Image: Hiroshi Watanabe / Getty
Some references are US specific and may not apply to Canada.
All investing involves risk, including the risk of loss.
Past performance does not guarantee future results.
An investment cannot be made directly in an index.
This does not constitute a recommendation of any investment strategy or product for a particular investor. Investors should consult a financial professional before making any investment decisions.
In general, stock values fluctuate, sometimes widely, in response to activities specific to the company as well as general market, economic and political conditions.
The S&P 500 Index is a is a market-capitalization-weighted index of the 500 largest domestic US stocks.
The Bloomberg US Corporate Bond Index measures the investment grade, fixed-rate, taxable corporate bond market. It includes US dollar-denominated securities publicly issued by US and non-US industrial, utility, and financial issuers.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted index of the 30 largest, most widely held stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange.
Option-adjusted spread (OAS) is the yield spread that must be added to a benchmark yield curve to discount a security’s payments to match its market price, using a dynamic pricing model that accounts for embedded options.
The risk-free rate represents the interest an investor would expect from an absolutely risk-free investment over a specified period of time.
Fed funds futures are financial contracts that represent the market’s opinion of where the federal funds rate will be at a specified point in the future. The federal funds rate is the rate at which banks lend balances to each other overnight.
The opinions referenced above are those of the author as of August 5, 2024. These comments should not be construed as recommendations, but as an illustration of broader themes. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future results. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions; there can be no assurance that actual results will not differ materially from expectations.
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