Back to Normal? Not So Fast…
Just as most restaurants and business in cities with the most stringent COVID precautions/restrictions started to re-open, some of those locations are introducing new COVID precaution/restriction measures.
For example New York City mayor Bill de Blasio recently announced mandatory vaccinations for all newly hired NYC government employees and for anyone wishing to eat inside a NYC restaurant or visit a NYC gym or entertainment center (article here). How will these new mandates impact business and the economy going forward?
As of July 31st, according to S&P Dow Jones Indices, the S&P 500 index of US stocks is up 17.0% year-to-date (YTD). The stock index has an average dividend yield of 1.4%.
Yields on the US Ten Year Treasury Bond dropped to 1.20% by 7/31/2021 and the S&P US Aggregate Bond Index, is down -0.3% YTD. The bond index has a yield-to-maturity of 1.2%.
The chart below highlights recent prices, total returns (total return always includes dividends), dividend yields, and trailing and forward-looking P/E’s (price-to-earnings ratio) for several S&P Dow Jones Indices.
Market |
Closing Price 12/31/2020 |
Closing Price 07/31/2021 |
YTD Tot. Return 07/31/2021 |
Yield % |
Trailing Twelve Mo P/E |
Forward Estimate P/E |
S&P 500 |
3,756 | 4,395 | 17.0% | 1.4% | 30.9x | 21.8x |
DJIA | 30,606 | 34,935 | 14.1% | 1.8% | 28.5x |
20.2x |
S&P US Aggregate Bond Index | -0.3% | 1.2% |
|
*Statistics for S&P 500 index, DJIA index, and S&P US Aggregate Bond index from S&P Dow Jones Indices.
Disclaimer
This material is provided by Schmitt Wealth Advisers for informational purposes only. It is not intended to serve as a substitute for personalized investment advice or as a recommendation or solicitation of any particular security, strategy or investment product. Opinions expressed by Schmitt Wealth Advisers are based on economic or market conditions at the time this material was written. Economies and markets fluctuate. Actual economic or market events may turn out differently than anticipated. Facts presented have been obtained from publicly available sources (unless otherwise noted) and are believed to be reliable. Schmitt Wealth Advisers, however, cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of such information. Past performance may not be indicative of future results.