LPL Financial Research’s “Outlook 2020: Bringing Markets into Focus” is now available in digital and printer-friendly versions. The report contains investment insights and market guidance for 2020. View the new interactive version of Outlook 2020 by downloading the PDF version below.

As investors sift through conflicting signals on economic growth, the January jobs report is an encouraging sign that the U.S. economy is on solid footing. Nonfarm payrolls rose 304K in January, handily beating consensus estimates for a 165K gain. Through January, payrolls posted their biggest two-month increase since July 2016, even though December’s payroll gains were revised down to 222K...

With stocks moving higher in early trading Friday, major indexes in the U.S. are tracking towards a relatively flat week following the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday. While the S&P 500 Index has spent the week consolidating gains within its expected resistance zone of 2600-2650, last Friday saw more than 70% of components reach a new 20-day high. Readings above 50% have historically been consistent with higher future returns, and a breach of this threshold has been something we have been looking for to signal broad participation in the recovery...