FINANCIAL BLOG

Earnings drive stock prices over time, but not all the time. Clearly, we’re in an environment where stocks are moving on developments in the Mideast and related moves in oil prices and interest rates. At the risk of writing about something that markets may not care much about right now, here we share some thoughts on the upcoming earnings season and the earnings outlook for the rest of the year.

LPL Research provides its Weekly Market Performance for the week of March 23, 2026. U.S. and global equity markets finished the week mostly lower as geopolitical uncertainty in the Middle East continued to drive volatility across regions and asset classes. Equities were whipsawed by shifting hopes for de‑escalation, choppy energy prices, and renewed pressure on large‑cap technology stocks, while Treasury yields moved higher amid weak auction demand and elevated inflation expe

LPL Research provides its Weekly Market Performance for the week of March 16, 2026. Markets navigated a choppy week marked by ongoing geopolitical tensions and shifting rate expectations amid a flurry of global central bank decisions. U.S. equities showed resilience early on but ultimately slipped as inflation concerns, elevated energy prices, and hawkish Federal Reserve takeaways weighed on sentiment.

Lower oil “intensity” — less oil used per dollar of economic output — means energy shocks have a smaller impact on growth than in past decades. And from the supply side, the U.S. is now a net exporter of petroleum products. Because we produce more than we import, the economy is less affected by volatile oil prices than during the 1970s and ‘80s, for example.

LPL Research provides its Weekly Market Performance for the week of March 9, 2026. Capital markets remained volatile for another week as geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East and rising oil prices continued to pressure global sentiment, yet U.S. equities remained relatively resilient with somewhat measured declines.

In our 2026 Outlook: The Policy Engine, we listed several risks to stocks that could prevent the S&P 500 from achieving our forecast for high-single-digit returns in 2026 (to a fair value target range of 7,300–7,400). One was narrow stock market leadership. Well, as mega cap technology leadership faded in recent months, the cyclicals and defensives picked up the slack.

LPL Research provides its Weekly Market Performance for the week of March 2, 2026. Capital markets faced a challenging start to March as geopolitical tensions between the U.S. and Iran, rising oil prices, and renewed inflation concerns pressured global equities and bonds. While U.S. stocks showed some signs of resilience with multiple daily gains and losses off session lows, both domestic and international markets ultimately declined amid energy supply fears and shifting rate

Dividend strategies, a.k.a. equity income strategies, have outperformed to start the year, owing to the value-led cyclical rotation we are seeing in domestic equity markets. Looking beyond current performance, this week, we ask and answer the question “How should I think about dividend stocks or building an equity income portfolio?”

LPL Research provides its Weekly Market Performance for the week of February 23, 2026. U.S. stocks fell for the week as concerns about AI’s disruptive impact drove a broader risk‑off shift. Technology and banks weakened, while defensive sectors held up better. International markets were mixed, with Asia outperforming despite global caution around AI. In bonds, falling yields supported core fixed income as investors grew more worried about economic momentum.

LPL Research’s Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) sits at the center of our portfolio construction process because it defines how we expect diversified portfolios to generate more stable long‑term outcomes across shifting market environments. The SAA is the long‑term plan for how major asset classes work together in a portfolio.

LPL Research provides its Weekly Market Performance for the week of February 16, 2026. U.S. stocks regained their footing in a holiday-shortened week, overcoming lingering concerns around AI‑related spending and geopolitical tensions to focus on mostly positive takeaways around the American economy. International stocks were mixed, with Europe extending gains on strong earnings and improving business activity, while Asia-Pacific trading was muted by Lunar New Year holiday clo

Wall Street narratives rarely stay still, and recent weeks have underscored how quickly sentiment can change as perceived new information challenges the status quo. Widely discussed anxiety over a potential artificial intelligence (AI) bubble fueled by relentless capital spending on data center infrastructure has now transitioned into a broader set of worries about industry‑level disruption driven by rapidly advancing AI platforms.

LPL Research provides its Weekly Market Performance for the week of February 9, 2026. It was a volatile week in which U.S. equities fell as fears of AI disruption outweighed solid economic data, while international and emerging markets outperformed. Treasury yields declined amid strong demand for government bonds, reflecting a flight to quality. Commodities were mixed, with energy prices falling and gold rising on safe‑haven demand.

LPL Research provides its Weekly Market Performance for the week of January 26, 2026. Capital markets continued to face a variety of moving pieces, this time, ranging from high-profile earnings, central bank developments from Washington, and volatile commodities and currency market trading. U.S. stocks ultimately ended mostly lower after retracing early-week gains on rekindled artificial intelligence (AI) scrutiny, and markets parsed the nomination for the next U.S. central b

After a stellar 2025 in which emerging market (EM) equities returned 34%, 2026 is off to a good start with the MSCI EM Index up 7% year to date. Last year’s near doubling of the S&P 500 return was driven mostly by a weakening U.S. dollar, which propped up EM returns, but attractive valuations and artificial intelligence (AI) investment played a role. This week we highlight five reasons we’ve warmed up to EM.

The Federal Reserve (Fed) enters 2026 navigating potentially constrained policy conditions as resilient growth and above‑trend inflation intersect with an increasingly unsustainable fiscal trajectory. Fed Chair Jerome Powell emphasized that federal debt growth requires eventual corrective action, even if near‑term market risks remain limited.

LPL Research provides its Weekly Market Performance for the week of January 26, 2026. Capital markets continued to face a variety of moving pieces, this time, ranging from high-profile earnings, central bank developments from Washington, and volatile commodities and currency market trading. U.S. stocks ultimately ended mostly lower after retracing early-week gains on rekindled artificial intelligence (AI) scrutiny, and markets parsed the nomination for the next U.S. central b

Productivity growth is the key mechanism that allows the U.S. economy to expand above its long‑run trend without reigniting inflation. Recent data show U.S. nonfarm business productivity rising 4.9% in Q3 2025, a surge strong enough to counter inflationary pressures even amid solid economic growth. Beyond containing inflation, faster productivity growth also helps offset structural headwinds from slowing population growth, a shrinking labor force, and an expanding retiree coh

LPL Research provides its Weekly Market Performance for the week of January 19, 2026. Four days of packed headlines and global volatility across markets left U.S. equities slightly lower in an abbreviated week of trading. Tariff threats across the Atlantic dented risk sentiment following the long weekend before a bounce in big tech names helped stocks recoup the geopolitical-fueled slide.

The melt‑up in the metals market that defined 2025 has extended its strength into the early weeks of the new year, reinforcing the commodity sector’s position as one of the leading asset classes across global markets. To the surprise of most, gold outperformed the broader equity market for a third consecutive year, surging roughly 65% in 2025 and far exceeding the S&P 500’s gains.