The S&P 500 (^GSPC) and Nasdaq Composite (^IXIC) reversed some of their gains in Thursday’s trading session. Edward Jones Senior Investment Strategist Mona Mahajan joins Catalysts to discuss the movement and how investors can best navigate this roller coaster ride.
„The markets have certainly calmed down more meaningfully in the last two days than Monday and Tuesday of this week… We saw the market just this week with the lower-than-expected jobless claims figures giving the market some comfort. It’s really looking for direction on two things, whether the US labor market is headed for some kind of meaningful decline or Two, is the broader economy headed for a downturn? Both of those questions are unanswered,” Mahajan explains.
Although unemployment remains high, he notes that this is due to the influx of workers entering the labor force rather than job losses and layoffs. „It’s a very benign environment. We don’t see a recession on the horizon. Against that backdrop, if the central bank cuts rates and there’s no recession, that will be very good for financial markets over time,” he adds. . Mahajan expects volatility and volatility in the market in the coming months and encourages investors to rebalance and diversify their portfolios. „You have to make sure that you’re looking at cyclical parts of the market, maybe mid-cap stocks, a little bit of international exposure, and what we think is going to be a successful portfolio.”
For more expert insights and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Catalysts.
This post was written by Melanie Reel