Investment Review - November 2016
- The major U.S. stock indexes were down in October. The Dow Jones Industrial Average declined 0.9%, the S&P 500 was off 1.9% and the Nasdaq Composite retreated 2.3%.
- The U.S. Dollar Index continued upward during October peaking at January 2016 levels. The Index, a trade weighted average of six currencies that are major trading partners with the U.S. rose by 3.1% in October. This rise in the value of the dollar reduces profit accounting for U.S. companies with international operations as the stronger dollar lowers the cost of imports and increases the price of exports to foreign purchasers.
- Cash trends in mutual fund investing are a proxy for market shifts in asset class investing sentiment. Equity funds posted an outflow of $22.51 billion in September, compared with an outflow of $32.38 billion in August. Bond funds had an inflow of $17.68 billion in September, compared with an inflow of $23.08 billion in August. Money market funds had an outflow of $52.26 billion in September, compared with an inflow of $17.62 billion in August.
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