First City Wealth

08/31/2026

Consider August 2026 in the record books. Today is the last day as we look ahead to September. For week ending 8/28, the markets bounced back to finish the month with three of four weeks positive. The S&P finished +0.50% (+13.51% ytd), the Dow +0.55% (+12.58% ytd), and the Nasdaq +0.85% (+14.03% ytd).

Rumor has it this is going to be the hottest week of the year, so stay cool, and have a great week!

08/24/2026

As we enter the final full week of August, temperatures have retreated from the high's we were experiencing the past couple of weeks. Stocks have done just the same. For week ending 8/21 the S&P finished -1.39% (+12.95% ytd), the Dow 0.78% (+11.96% ytd), and the Nasdaq -2.02% (+13.07% ytd).

Enjoy these final weeks of summer.

08/19/2026

Happy...Wednesday(?)... It's been a busy week and I haven't yet made my previous week market recap report. So, happy hump-day!

Indexes were mixed to end the week of 8/14. The S&P finished +0.39% (+14.54% ytd), the Dow -0.53% (+12.83% ytd), and the Nasdaq +0.16% (+15.40% ytd).

I hope everyone has a great rest of your week and please let me know if I can be of service.

08/12/2026

https://youtu.be/X9VV872872g?si=aLcO-dBlwmVnS62Q

From the dot-com boom to the housing crisis, market bubbles have co...

08/10/2026

Today is day 222 of 2026 meaning we are rapidly approaching the final 1/3 of the year. This past week saw tech stocks surge, oil prices fall, and bond yields fluctuate. There was an unexpected decline in July payrolls of 23,000 which is viewed as lowering the likelihood of a September interest rate hike. The July rate meeting ended 6-3 in favor of keeping rates steady with the three dissents voting to increase rates. There is still the possibility of a rate increase before year-end but that seems to be less likely with each passing meeting.

It was a strong week in the equity markets for week ending 8/7. The S&P finished +3.59% (+14.09% ytd), the Dow +2.96% (13.43% ytd), and the Nasdaq +5.19% (+15.22% ytd).

08/03/2026

Happy Monday, and for our household the last one of summer break for the kiddos as they resume school on Thursday. This summer, and 2026 as whole, sure seems to be flying by.

As we enter August, we reflect on week ending 7/31 where markets broke a two week losing streak and finished with our 4th consecutive month of gains. The S&P finished +1.06% (+10.14% ytd), the Dow +1.04% (+10.17% ytd), and the Nasdaq +1.60% (+9.53% ytd).

As of July 31, no individual economic sector is negative on the year. Energy leads at +34.7% followed by Industrials (+16.5%) and Technology (15.7%) while the three weakest are Financial (+4.9%), Communication Services (+1.4%), and Consumer Discretionary (0.0%).

Have a great week!

07/27/2026

Major indexes suffered a second consecutive week of negative returns on the heels of escalated conflict in the middle east. For week-ending 7/24 the S&P finished -1.66% (+8.92% ytd), the Dow -1.58% (+8.54%), and the Nasdaq -2.88% (+8.50% ytd).

07/23/2026

I'm a little late in getting out last week's numbers. I apologize but I was taking in some of what New York City has to offer.

The global economy continues to attempt to navigate a multitude of events. Optimists embrace a comforting narrative of steady growth, productivity-driven innovation, disinflation, corporate triumphs, and contained geopolitical spillovers. Conversely, pessimists worry about the global economy's shrinking resilience, the uneven diffusion of those very innovators, mounting financial imbalances, and genuinely delicate policy trade-offs.

Against this back-drop, last week pessimism won with softer inflation data, additional evidence of a widening divergence in global economic performance, geopolitical flare-ups, and the macroeconomic landscape. All of this led to the S&P finishing -1.55% (+9.64% ytd), the Dow -0.93% (+9.43%), and the Nasdaq -2.90% (+10.15% ytd).

Enjoy what's left of this week and have a great weekend!

07/15/2026

If you have six minutes to spare, this is a great overview.

07/13/2026

Happy Monday, July 13th! Major indexes finished last week mixed with the S&P finishing +1.26% (+11.36% ytd) the Dow -0.48% (+10.46% ytd), and the Nasdaq +1.74% (+13.44% ytd).

Markets continue to react to the US/Iran conflict volleying back and forth as the status of the ceasefire comes and goes. The resulting impact to oil prices continue to be something watch. On a different note, the markets continue to price in a greater than 50% likelihood of at least one rate increase before year end. The correlation between energy prices and inflationary pressure are a catalyst to continue to monitor when trying to anticipate if/when a rate increase may come to fruition.

Have a great week!