TommyIV's TSP Talk Blog

Stocks were mixed this week with earnings season getting closer to wrapping up and the news coverage of the tax bill keeping investors on their toes. Earnings season added volatility to the end of October after seeing tight upward trading action to the first half of the month. Good earnings reports from big names such as Apple pushed large caps up on Friday to end the week near the highs; similar to what we saw last week. Small caps did not share the same fate as trading was more lackluster on Friday to keep the indices in the negative for the week.

President Trump nominated Jerome Powell as the next Chairman of the Federal Reserve in place of Janet Yellen. This was a dovish choice as Powell shares similar economic beliefs and monetary-policy preferences as Yellen meaning more of the status quo. The only real difference is Powell does not have a PhD in economics. The Fed had an interest policy announcement this week but nothing new was really said. There is still an expected rate hike in December.

The new proposed tax policy was all over the news this week but it does not seem to be too close to a final bill as congress members are still fighting for negotiations. Market players were listening carefully to the concerns of congress members for clues to the economic implications this new tax bill could possess.

The I-fund led the TSP funds this week with a gain just short of 1%. The S-fund lagged with the only loss for the TSP funds down 0.25%.




Here are the weekly, monthly, and annual TSP fund returns for the week ending November 3rd:




Here are the TSP fund returns for the month of October:



The C-fund outperformed the other TSP funds in October but all were in positive territory for the month. The F-fund was nearly flat.


The SPY (S&P 500 / C-fund) was up for the week as it bounced around the support line of the rising trading channel it has been in since mid-August. The index ended the week above that support line after dipping below a bit intraday on Thursday. The C-fund was up 0.29% for the week.




The Dow Completion Index (S-fund) traded below a rising support line this week but was kept at just below with support from the 20-day EMA. The index traded relatively sideways after big moves in September and the beginning of October. The S-fund was down 0.25% for the week.




EFA (EAFE Index / I-fund) gapped up to open the week and again mid-week to produce two new open gaps below. The index did find resistance from rising resistance from the peaks of early Augest and mid-September. The index led the TSP funds this week with a gain of 0.92%.




AGG (Bonds / F-fund) gapped up to start the week and pressed on to surpass its 20 and 50-day EMA as well as falling resistance. AGG found support in that resistance line intraday Friday. There is now an open gap below the current price. The F-fund was up 0.44% for the week.




Good luck and thanks for reading. We will be back here next week with another TSP Wrap Up. You can read our daily market commentary at the Market Comments page. If you need more help deciding what to do with your account, perhaps one of our Premium Services can help.


Thomas A Crowley
www.tsptalk.com
Weekly Wrap-Ups Archive
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