This week saw the major indices posting slight gains, as the shortened trading week saw less volatility overall compared to the last few weeks. The NASDAQ was the big winner again, posting a gain of 1.35% and put the index at 6.3% for 2018.
In economic news, we await the release of the latest round of fed minutes, which are expected to give a hint as to the potential for an additional interest rate increase in 2018 (potentially 4 vs consensus estimate of 3). The initial jobless claims fell more than expected and existing home sales came in behind expectations - no news was too significant though.
The political arena was largely quiet on the economic front, though gun control is again at the forefront of the news, causing some concern in firearm and munitions manufacturing.
The cryptocurrency space was a bit of a rollercoaster as well, with Bitcoin and other coins advancing early in the week (Bitcoin hit 12k at one point), but retreating and giving back most of the gains later in the week.
One of the stocks I like, Walmart, was down 10% on the week after a significant recent climb on concerns of slowing growth and lower than expected online sales results.
Overall, it was a good week and I remain fully invested.
Good luck,
Brian