Last week, the S&P 500 (SPY) fell during a short trading week. There were many factors that impacted investor sentiment. The first was September’s past history of being a lower month for stock performance. Investors’ thoughts remained focused on the August payrolls miss from the week before, which was due to fears that COVID’s delta variant might slow down the recovery in the economy. As long-term interest rates rose, the real estate industry led to declines. The best performers were utility stocks and consumer staples. In terms of market cap, the small-cap Index underperformed the market after two strong weeks of outperforming the larger benchmarks. Also, Value stocks outperformed Growth stocks. I’ll discuss this and more below….Enjoy this version of my weekly comment published September 15, 2021 via the POWR Val newsletter.

Five days of trading have seen the market fall in the past seven days. While I doubt we’re heading for a bear-market, bearish sentiment is evident. We saw losses for four consecutive days last week. Along with the August payrolls missing, investors also worried about political uncertainties. In the previous weeks, the focus was on monetary policies.

Concerns now surround fiscal policy, and the bill’s impact on infrastructure. On Wednesday we learned that Senator Joe Manchin supports only $1 trillion in President Biden’s $3.5 trillion spending plan. I believe that the Street has placed their faith in this package. If it fails, we may see increased volatility.

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