October Market Update - A Sluggish Economy Where We Trade for Free

The S&P 500 gained 1.72% in September, ending at 2,976.73. The sugar high from the world's two largest economies (USA and China) is over and unfortunately the sugar store is closed. What do I mean? China's stimulus to help pull the global economy out of a slowdown from the 2015-16 dip cannot be replicated. It looks probable the U.S. used up it's last bit of fiscal stimulus before election day with the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017. Our current economic landscape shows Europe learning about the downside of negative rates and a banking system that has not healed from the Great Recession, Japan's central bank left with no impactful stimulus, aging demographics, underfunded pensions, Brexit, a corporate debt fiasco-in-the-making, and a developed world running out of labor. With this backdrop, at best, the U.S. sees a choppy directionless market until the election. Let's jump right into the details and review price, sentiment and valuation.