Learn-To-Trade.com, Toronto’s leading provider of professional stock market trading courses designed to create successful traders on the financial market, is weighing in on the S&P 500 reaching a record high and providing an outlook for the remainder of the year.
“Despite economic headwinds and geopolitical tensions with the Russia-Ukraine standoff, the Israel-Gaza conflict, and terrorist activity in Iraq, the S&P 500 has been on a tear,” says George Karpouzis, co-founder and director of education at Learn-To-Trade.com. “On Thursday, August 21, the S&P 500 hit an all-time high of 1,994 and closed at just over 1,992. This represents the 28th record close this year for the S&P 500.”
Karpouzis explains that the solid gains made this year have caught most analysts off guard. For starters, the current bull market is more than five years old and many believe it is ripe for a correction. On top of that, the S&P 500 gained almost 30% in 2013 and Wall Street was of the opinion that the broader index would take a bit of a breather.
He also notes that those investors who kept their money parked in stocks listed on the S&P 500 this year have seen their portfolios grow significantly; especially if they invested in funds and exchange-traded funds that mimic the S&P 500. Coming into 2014, many economists believed stocks would be held back from making the same strong gain experienced in 2013 as a result of rising interest rates, an overvalued stock market, and weak profits.
“At the beginning of 2014, many strategists were calling for the S&P 500 to rise slightly more than five percent for the entire year,” Karpouzis adds. “Since the beginning of the year, the S&P 500 is already up roughly eight percent.”
With earnings seasons coming to an end, more than 95% of all U.S. companies on the S&P 500 are done reporting second-quarter results. Overall, earnings for corporate America increased eight year-over-year. Medical companies saw their earnings grow 15.7%, construction profits were up 14.2%, and companies in the technology sector saw their earnings rise 12.4% year-over-year. (Source: Shinal, J., “First Take: Corporate America ends monster earnings quarter,” USA Today web site, August 21, 2014; www.usatoday.com/story/tech/columnist/shinal/2014/08/21/first-take-corporate-america-has-blow-out-earnings-quarter/14410201/.)
“Many think the bull market is getting long in the tooth. But the fact of the matter is that bull markets usually end when fundamentals deteriorate and investor liquidity gets pulled from the market, neither of which is happening,” Karpouzis concludes. “Where will the S&P 500 go from here? It’s impossible to predict exactly where the S&P 500 will go, but taking stock market trading courses from the professional traders at Learn-To-Trade.com will show members how technical analysis techniques can help predict price movements, which can be applied to any financial market.”
Learn-To-Trade.com is the leading provider of stock market training courses in the Greater Toronto Area. Led by licensed industry professionals, Learn-To-Trade.com’s extensive stock market trading courses provide its members with all the tools necessary to trade financial products in today’s complex and fast-paced markets. Stock trading training courses with Learn-To-Trade.com teach investors both basic and advanced stock market investing principles, including how to read and understand stock prices and quotes, fundamental and technical analysis, and various trading strategies. Stock trading training at Learn-To-Trade.com also provides extensive training and knowledge in stock option trading, stock index trading, futures trading, futures option trading, forex trading, risk management, and capital preservation. Learn-To-Trade.com members utilize real-time, simulated trading platforms to paper trade until they gain the confidence to make independent market decisions and produce consistently profitable results. As the leading and oldest financial educator in Canada, Learn-To-Trade.com’s instructors are also educators for the Toronto Montreal Exchange, as well as the TMX, through which it offers educational sessions to the major banks across Canada. To learn more about Learn-To-Trade.com, visit the company’s web site at www.Learn-To-Trade.com. Contact Learn-To-Trade.com by phone at 416-510-5560 or by e-mail at info@Learn-To-Trade.com.
