Ol’ Jebidiah, The Hillbilly Sage – Well now, pull up a chair on the front porch here and pour yourself a glass of sweet tea, because the weather up here on the Blue Ridge is getting a little bit cooler and August sure gave us a lot to talk about concerning Wall Street—and I reckon September isn’t about to let up just yet.
Looking at the big picture, the broad stock market put on quite a show in August. The major indexes finished the month in green territory, largely driven by strong quarterly earnings and big tech bouncing back. On the surface, things looked smooth as warm butter. But if you take a look under the hood, you’ll see the market was wrestling with a few heavyweights behind the scenes.
First off, energy and raw materials were pushing hard. Middle East tensions and a spike in oil prices kept energy near the top of the chart. In fact, energy is the top performing sector (at 44% growth) through the end of the month. On the flip side, things like utilities and real estate felt the pinch. Why? Because interest rates—and specifically bond yields—crept right back up near multi-year highs.
And that brings us to what might carry over into September. At the Fed’s Jackson Hole meeting late in the month, central bankers made it clear that keeping a lid on inflation is still job number one. That hawkish tone knocked small-cap stocks around a bit, as folks started pricing in the possibility that interest rates might stay higher for longer.
What to look out for this month:
- The Federal Reserve’s next move: All eyes are on whether they’ll hold or hike rates.
- Energy prices & geopolitical noise: Higher oil acts like a tax on the consumer, so we’re watching those gas pumps closely.
- Economic data releases: Key reports on inflation and jobs will tell us if the broader economy is cooling off or running hot.
Market chop can make a person jittery, but steady hands and a long-term plan always win the day. Reach out to those boys down the hill in Spartanburg at ProVest if you want to chat about what’s going on. Old Noel, young Gabe and new guy Peyton keep their eye on things pretty good and they just love talking to y’all ‘bout how to make more money.
