Confidence Slumps • Fed Ahead • Dividend Hikes

March 11, 2022 | Hoya Capital

Confidence Slumps • Fed Ahead • Dividend Hikes Real Estate Daily Recap Mar 11 Written By U.S. equity markets finished lower Friday- ending another volatile week with cumulative declines of 2-3%- as investors assessed developments in the Russia/Ukraine conflict and await the Fed's decision next week. Finishing near session lows and recording its fourth weekly decline in five weeks, the S&P 500 slipped 1.3% today while the tech-heavy Nasdaq 100 dipped 2.0%, pushing its weekly decline to nearly 4%.

Real estate equities were among the outperformers today and on the week, but the Equity REIT Index still finished lower by 0.8% today with 4-of-19 property sectors in positive territory. Concerns over inflation have weighed on consumer confidence in recent months, sending the University of Michigan's consumer sentiment index tumbling to 10-year lows in March while expectations for one-year inflation rates increased to 5.4% - the highest since the early 1980s.

Another day, another wave of REIT dividend hikes. Today, American Tower (AMT), Global Medical REIT (GMRE), and WP Carey (WPC) raised their dividends while Park Hotels (PK) reinstated its dividend, which had been suspended since early 2020. Income Builder Daily Recap We recently launched Hoya Capital Income Builder - a premier income-focused investment research service through Seeking Alpha Marketplace - that will be the new exclusive home of all of Hoya Capital's investment research.

Income Builder focuses on real income-producing asset classes that offer the opportunity for diversification, monthly income, capital appreciation, and inflation hedging. If you're not already on board, give us a try with a completely risk-free two-week trial and take a look around. U.S. equity markets finished lower Friday - ending another volatile week with cumulative declines of 2-3% - as investors assessed developments in the Russia/Ukraine conflict and await next week's Federal Reserve rate hike decision.

Finishing near session-lows and recording its fourth weekly decline in five weeks, the S&P 500 slipped 1.3% today while the ...