July 2023 Outlook: Halfway down and headed for a soft landing?
Inflation is subsiding and the economy expanding. Global financial markets march forward despite recession fears. Unemployment rates hold steady and banking crisis concerns disappear in the rearview mirror. But is it too good to be true?
At first glance, strong market returns echo the good news, outperforming Wall Street analyst predictions with steady strides less than a year after bottoming out in October. U.S. equities regained their lead over international stocks, returning 16.9% versus 11.7%, largely thanks to an impressive second quarter. The technology, communication services, and consumer discretionary sectors built on first-quarter gains to post returns of 42.8%, 36.2%, and 33.1%, respectively.
A deeper look paints a less rosy picture, with top-heavy gains concentrated among a handful of top S&P constituents. That said, June’s data shows an encouraging shift in market behavior, with more cyclical sectors roaring back to life.
So where do we go from here? What can we expect in the second half of the year?
Keep on reading our latest edition of Market Insights, get valuable insights to make sense of today’s market conditions and plot your course forward.
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