This Weekly Financial Markets Update reviews the top market headlines: Federal Reserve Enacts Another Rate Cut, Upswing in Consumer Sentiment, Existing Home Sales Hit Nine-Month High
  • The Federal Reserve cut its federal funds rate target range to 4.25%-4.50%
  • The University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index rose to 74.0 in November
  • November existing home sales rose 6.1% from a year earlier

Top Three Market Headlines

Federal Reserve Enacts Another Rate Cut: The Federal Reserve last week voted to lower its benchmark policy interest rate, the federal funds rate, by another quarter percentage point to a range of 4.25%-4.50%. This was the third straight meeting at which the central bank has lowered the target rate, which has now declined by a full percentage point in just over three months. Fed officials concurrently updated their outlook for future fed funds rate levels, with the median forecast now signaling two more quarter-point rate cuts by year-end 2025, a less aggressive pace than the prior forecast of four such cuts issued in September.

Upswing in Consumer Sentiment: The latest Index of Consumer Sentiment published by the University of Michigan rose to 74.0 for November, up 2.2 points from October. This was the fifth straight monthly increase and the highest reading since April of this year. In particular, respondents' assessment of current economic conditions jumped 18% from last month. The improved outlook mirrored the latest release of The Conference Board's Consumer Confidence Index, which rose from 109.6 in October to 111.7 in November, a 16-month high.

Existing Home Sales Hit Nine-Month High: Sales of existing homes in the U.S. surged 4.8% in November to reach a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.15 million units, the strongest showing since March, according to the National Association of Realtors. The robust monthly gain, which more than doubled economists' projections of 2.5%, helped drive year-over-year sales up 6.1%, the sharpest annual acceleration since mid-2021. Housing inventory declined 2.9% month-over-month in November to 1.33 million units but remained significantly higher — up 17.7% — compared to November 2023 levels.

Please note: There will be no Weekly Financial Markets Update published next Monday, December 30. The next report will be published on January 6, 2025. We would like to wish everyone a happy holiday season!

As of December 20, 2024 Week Quarter-To-Date Year-To-Date One-Year
MSCI All Country World -2.51% -0.68% 17.86% 19.83%
S&P 500 -1.97% 3.23% 26.03% 27.97%
Russell 2000 -4.43% 0.82% 12.07% 14.65%
MSCI EAFE -3.58% -9.20% 2.60% 4.08%
MSCI Emerging Markets -3.12% -8.34% 7.12% 10.03%
FTSE NAREIT Equity -4.36% -6.95% 7.87% 9.87%
Bloomberg Commodity -1.04% -1.78% 3.97% 3.60%
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate -0.69% -3.05% 1.27% 1.62%

Federal Reserve 12/18/24, CNBC 12/18/24, WSJ 12/19/24, Univ. of Michigan 12/20/24, The Conference Board 11/26/24, Nat'l Assoc. of Realtors 12/19/24. Data from Morningstar Direct. Returns for periods greater than one year are annualized. Investment advisory, named and independent fiduciary services are offered through Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors, LLC, an SEC Registered Investment Adviser. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors, LLC does not express an investment opinion regarding any specific commodity, sector or individual security. Unless otherwise expressly noted, the contents of this communication do not constitute securities or investment advice, nor should this communication be construed as an opinion regarding the appropriateness of any investment. Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors, LLC is a single-member, limited-liability company, with Gallagher Benefit Services, Inc. as its single member. Neither Arthur J. Gallagher & Co., Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors, LLC nor their affiliates provide accounting, legal or tax advice. The information provided cannot take into account all the various factors that may affect your particular situation, therefore you should consult your Gallagher Fiduciary Advisors consultant before acting upon any information or recommendation contained herein to discuss the suitability of the information/recommendation for your specific situation.