As coronavirus restrictions ease and businesses reopen, the American economy should gain steam. Data released in May and June, including employment, payroll, and manufacturing numbers, suggested the economy may have hit bottom in April.1
The word unprecedented seems to have lost its meaning given the number of times we’ve heard it in recent months. But it’s a good word to help describe the confluence of events that include a global pandemic, an economic slowdown here and abroad, job losses, geopolitical tensions and civil unrest. If your head is spinning, we don’t blame you. What we are experiencing can be unnerving.
Stocks continued to move higher in May, as the S&P 500 rallied for a second consecutive month. Continued stimulus from fiscal and monetary authorities has boosted equities, bolstering expectations for an economic rebound later this year and into early 2021. However, positive equity headlines don’t tell the full story, cautions Raymond James Chief Investment Officer Larry Adam.
Globally, billions remain at home under some variation of COVID-related lockdowns and social distancing, a phrase many of us hadn’t heard or used up until this year. Unsurprisingly, this has affected just about every industry, from restaurants to airlines to the oil industry. The markets, in turn, have experienced some turmoil although they perked up a bit in April on news of a potential therapeutic and unprecedented stimulus out of Washington.