TommyIV's TSP Talk Blog

Stock indices were mixed earlier in the week but the common theme was reversals and the poor action on Friday to solidify a negative week. Investors are losing hope with the weak perfomance and ugly charts in the midst what has usually been a positive time of year for stocks. What has been especially troubling is that good news turns into an opportunity to sell. Investors are looking for ways out of stocks quickly now that the term bear market has become a common reference to stocks.

Next week will be the FOMC meeting and another rate hike is anticipated. The Fed has become more selective in their words lately seemingly to not upset the market any further. The rate hike in late September was reasonably blamed for the sell-off in October. But like we've talked about before, the economic conditions in the U.S. are not even close to anything terrible; with the major stock indices now all down for the year it wouldn't make much sense for the market to be valued too much lower on this basis. But this is opinion and trade issues and higher borrowing cost could have a domino effect on stocks that is unknown to me.

The degree of losses was mixed for the TSP stock funds, but they were all down. The S-fund lagged with a 2.33% loss. The F-fund managed to remain in positive territory.




Here are the weekly, monthly, and annual TSP fund returns for the week ending December 14th:




The SPY (S&P 500 / C-fund) had highs where its path crossed with its 20-day EMA. Technical resistance has been stronger lately because it is coupled with poor sentiment. Traders in the market are being careful and look for selling opportunities when any profit is produced. The index fell back to the lows of late October by the end of Friday which was took a lot of hope from the bulls. The C-fund was down 1.22% for the week.




The Dow Completion Index (S-fund) lagged the TSP funds while falling below and closing below the October lows. The index is near 18% off its highs in August. The index has mostly remained below its 20-day EMA since the index was near its highs. The S-fund was down 2.33% for the week.




EFA (EAFE Index /I-fund) was up early but with a number of troubles across Europe the losses were added on late in the week. The open gap produced early in the week was skipped when the index gapped down Friday. The I-fund was down 0.33 for the week.




AGG (Bonds / F-fund) jumped up to the highs produced in August but was stopped there. The index fell following the early gains but the F-fund was able to gain 0.06% for the week matching the G-fund.




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/a>
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