Markets surged last week with major indexes posting 6% to 8% gains, recovering all the losses from the preceding two weeks of decline, which came amid Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine, rising oil prices, and planned federal rate hikes.
Then, there will be four rate hikes in 2023 and none in 2024, which would bring the overall policy rate to 2.9%, slightly higher than the last peak of 2.5% in December 2018.
This is all causing mortgage rates to be over 4% for the first time since May 2019 because of inflation and the overall economy beginning to recover from the pandemic.
Gas prices have hit $6 a gallon in some parts of the county, and we haven’t yet reached the busy summer driving season.
When a company’s share price is high, that means profits have been going up for a while, which translates to big gains for investors.
Even — and especially — when there’s volatility in the stock market, the best course of action is to be aware, but stick to your investing plans.
Futures are financial contracts that commit a buyer or seller to buy or sell an asset at a future price and date, respectively.
For new investors, big swings in the market can be a lot to handle.
But if you have a buy-and-hold strategy with low-cost, broad-market index funds, remember that slow and steady wins the race.
“The most important thing is to always remember what you’re investing for,” says Thomas Muñoz, associate financial life advisor at Telemus, a financial advisory firm.
Whatever you do, invest early and often, especially if you have a long investment timeline.
You can even take advantage of a dip to invest more, but not if it impacts your regular investing schedule, Muñoz advises.
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