Markets Show Small Gains Amid Persistent Negative Sentiment
Market Recap for the Week of March 23, 2025
Last week was neither overly positive nor negative for U.S. stocks. The S&P 500 ended the week about 0.50% higher than where it began. Sentiment remained very negative, with only 22% of individual investors taking a bullish view of the market for the next six months.
Although this is a slight improvement from the previous week, it is still well below the historical average of 36%. In other words, investors are still worried about this market. The Leading Economic Index, published by The Conference Board, fell for the month of February. This index measures economic strength across various sectors, such as manufacturing, employment, and construction. A decline in the index suggests that economic activity over the next six months may weaken. However, we should take this with a grain of salt, as the index has been signaling a contraction for the past two years, yet we have not seen a material impact on the economy.
“Even as investor sentiment remains low and the Leading Economic Index declines, U.S. stocks posted modest gains for the week.”
Chart of The Week
Our chart of the week comes from the JPMorgan Guide to Retirement. This chart shows that there are some things in retirement we have complete control over, some things we have partial control over, and others we have no control over. Take one of the two things we have no control over: market returns. However, investors tend to focus heavily on this topic, attempting to control it through market timing or complex products. Our advice is to focus on the things we can control, such as asset allocation and asset location.
The commentary in this blog is for informational purposes only and should not be taken as personalized investment advice
Chart of the week Source: JPMorgan Guide to Retirement
