U.S. equity markets extended their gains to a second weekly rally last week after a drug showed some effectiveness in treating the COVID-19 disease and President Trump identified the circumstances necessary for parts of the country to allow employees to start returning to work. Both developments bring us one step closer to answering questions that continually weigh on the minds of investors: what's being done to stop the spread of the virus and what's being done to limit the economic disruption.
While equities have performed well recently, concerns remain that may lead to volatility in the coming weeks. Despite last weeks's news, the stock market cannot perfectly price in when the economy opens, what that opening could resemble, and the future impact on corporate profits. With investors possibly being a bit too optimistic despite lingering questions, a near-term pullback in the coming weeks is possible. With that said, more importantly, we are not likely to hit the lows seen earlier this year due to the unprecedented monetary and fiscal stimulus applied to limit economic disruption.
We do think there will be opportunities in this market, but we are looking for more clarity before getting too optimistic.
Your well-being is of foremost importance. We will continue to monitor the economic and market implications of the COVID-19 pandemic and make accessible updates as soon as they are available.
