PUT IN WORK (10/30/2023)

The stock market saw another sizeable negative movement last week, with all indices taking considerable hits. The Nasdaq (QQQ) ended down 2.6%, while the S&P 500 (SPY) ended down a similar 2.5%. This volatile movement is still to be expected in these uncertain times, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we’re in a bad spot.

Despite this heavy downward movement, earnings continue to beat expectations, most notably, big tech stocks. Some of our most prominent tech companies, such as Amazon (AMZN), Google (GOOG), and Microsoft (MSFT), all reported earnings and revenue beats in the face of analysts. Unfortunately, as many of us have seen, their stocks still didn’t react as positively as some would hope. While the majority of these stocks saw a quick spike in purchased shares, they were rather quickly dragged back down to their previous price. In the case of Google, however, despite their success, the stock has dropped a sizeable 12%. Apple (AAPL) is set to report this Thursday, but seeing how all these other reports have affected the market, don’t expect it to singlehandedly change market direction anytime soon.

All this downward movement can still be attributed to investor uncertainty caused by events we’ve touched on for weeks: ongoing wars, inflation concerns, and upcoming Fed news. The aforementioned good earnings, however, point to better times ahead. With the growth of these companies having been in a slowdown over the last couple of years, this turnaround and reacceleration we’re seeing is a great sign. Another positive sign can be seen in the movement of the 10-year treasury note, which has fallen from 5% in the last few days.

Our market is still very volatile, and its immediate future isn’t wholly discernable. The next Fed meeting will occur this Tuesday and Wednesday, and some investors are holding out for the results. Regardless, we believe our long-term prospects are still bright, even if we still have a ways to go.

(Nasdaq ETF (QQQ) price from October 2022 - October 2023 — each candle is 1 week. Chart provided by tradingview.com.)

PORTFOLIO UPDATE

Our portfolio moved in line with the market, with most of our picks taking heavy hits. We believe the market still has a further ways to go, but we’ll be cautious and remain alert in search of any additions. Despite this negative movement, we still believe in the long-term viability of our picks and plan to hold all currently owned stocks for the foreseeable future. We'll be out of state next week, and therefore won't be posting an article. As always, thank you for reading, and happy investing.