Good morning and welcome to the Weekender for Saturday, February 4, 2023. Equity markets in the United States, as measured by the Standard and Poor’s 500 index, were higher by 1.6%. In the accompanying graph, the January ending levels of the S&P 500 for the past five years are showed in blue bars linked to the left axis. Inside the bars, the price-to-earnings ratios on the same date are printed in white. Equity market valuation multiples rose going into the pandemic as excess liquidity washed over US consumers and investors. Stock price declines in 2022 pushed valuations back toward normal levels while equity market gains since January first are making markets expensive again, especially when earnings are expected to decline going into 2023.
Click here to download the Weekender PDF File
Click here to download the Weekender PDF File