Monday’s strong manufacturing report caught our attention, even as the coronavirus outbreak dominated the financial media. At 50.9, the Institute for Supply Management’s (ISM) manufacturing purchasing managers’ index (PMI) for January moved into expansionary territory (above 50) for the first time since July 2019. Trade-related components improved, likely signaling the positive impact of the U.S.-China phase-one trade deal. The forward-looking new-orders component also showed strength.

We must admit that the strong report surprised us given that economic growth expectations, particularly in Asia, have been comin

The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield moved to within .05% of its recent low on Friday, January 31, approaching the 1.47% mark set back in August 2019. Prospects of stabilizing global growth and progress on trade encouraged yields to start pressing higher over the last four months of 2019; however, fears of the potential economic damage from efforts to contain the spread of the coronavirus steered investors back to the relative safety of Treasuries.

While recent declines may make it appear yields are destined to push lower, large swings in Treasury yields, both higher and lower, have been normal. As shown in LPL Chart of the Day, since

After a three-and-a-half-month, largely uninterrupted rally in stocks, the period of calm ended last week as the coronavirus outbreak led to a bout of volatility. Though it is difficult to predict when the virus will be contained and how many more lives might be lost, we provide some historical perspective on other major global health events to help assess potential market impacts.

Background

On Monday, January 27, fears that the deadly coronavirus would spread further around the globe intensified and led to a 1.6% drop in the S&P 500 Index, the biggest one-day drop in the index since October 8, 2019. It was the first ti

U.S. stocks fell for the second straight week, as the S&P 500 Index slid more than 2% as the coronavirus outbreak spread rapidly within China and fears of a global outbreak increased. Good earnings results overall, particularly for tech and internet retail companies, helped offset some of the hit to investor sentiment.

All four U.S. indexes we track fell during the week, with the Nasdaq Composite falling less thanks to earnings-driven gains in the consumer discretionary sector. The small cap Russell 2000 Index underperformed the S&P 500, while growth stocks, buoyed by Amazon, held up better than their counterparts on the