Market Update
As the third quarter comes to a close, there is significant angst about the valuation of the stock market. The economic environment raises questions about the possible implications for future performance of the stock market. That is the topic of this issue of Partner Talk.
This examination is particularly relevant given the political environment. A major concern is the potential impact of the current trade disputes. My colleague, Marshall Blume, tackled this “trade war” in the last edition of Partner Talk. As Marshall noted last month, the trade disputes have not yet resulted in a significant drop in the stock market. That observation remains true today – one month later. For the third quarter of this year, the return of the S&P 500 Index is 7.7%. This quarterly return represents the strongest quarterly market performance since the fourth quarter of 2013. It is difficult to argue that such performance is consistent with the trade issue dragging down the market.
