If there has been a constant over the last few weeks, it has to be the hefty dose of uncertainty in the markets. From political pressures to earning issues, the markets have been on a roller coaster ride. This week, that ride finally came to a head. Stocks spent much of the time trending lower as the pressures took hold. This caused some analysts to predict that the ‘Trump bump’ is finally deflating and that 2017 could be a period of lower returns for investors.
And the economic data supports this rocky picture. On one hand, several metrics continue to show signs of very bullish activity. On the other, those metrics have trended lower than previous readings. While this week was light on data, the major measures of labor, manufacturing and consumer health followed that pattern.
Earnings have also been less than great. Profits have finally started to dip, while revenues and forward guidance figures have also declined. With earnings season starting to wind down, investors are looking at a potentially lower year overall.
In the end, this week has proven to be a difficult one for traders, underscoring all the uncertainty facing stocks in 2017.
Check out last week’s Market Glance here.
