February 24, 2023, Weekly Stock Market Return Recap. The markets continued to be rattled by lingering inflation as recent economic data has increased expectations that the Fed will have to move higher and hold interest rates at higher rates for an extended period. The US major equity averages all ended the week with their biggest losses in 2023. The S&P 500 was down 2.7%, marking not only its third weekly loss but its worst week since Dec. 9th of last year. The Dow fell almost 3.0% this week — its fourth straight losing week. The Nasdaq closed 3.3% lower, notching its second negative week in three. Two Federal Reserve officials suggested Friday morning that inflation could persist longer than thought after the central bank’s most closely watched inflation gauge surged by the most in months. The Fed’s Kansas City’s Bank Manufacturing Survey for February showed that prices paid for raw materials and prices received for goods increased compared to January. The core personal consumption expenditures price index increased 0.6% for the month of January; consumer spending rose more than expected as prices increased, jumping 1.8% for the month vs. the estimate for 1.4%.
February 17, 2023, Weekly Stock Market Return Recap. U.S. equities finished lower for the second consecutive week with economic data showing persistent inflation and hawkish comments from Fed members, weighing on market sentiment. The equity index loss leader was the Nasdaq down -0.6%, followed by the S&P 500 finished off -0.3% and the Dow Jones -0.1%. This week six-month Treasury bills topped 5% for the first time since 2007, marking a sign that markets are coming around to our view that overnight rates will go above 5% and stay for a while. Credit card debt hit an all-time high — just shy of $1 trillion — in the final three months of 2022, delinquencies among borrowers accelerated. Indeed, personal credit balances grew $61 billion in the fourth quarter from the previous one to $986 billion, marking the largest quarterly increase and the highest total since the series tracking began in 1999.
February 10, 2023, Weekly Stock Market Return Recap. The S&P 500 fell -0.9% on the week with all 11 broad sectors of the benchmark index ending in negative territory. The market continues to receive strong job data, fueling concern that the Fed will continue to raise interest rates and harm the economy. This is also why the fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) was up 5.5% to 20. Also, bonds finished lower on the week pushing yields to the highest in over a month.
February 3, 2023, Weekly Stock Market Return Recap. The broad US equity indexes finished mixed on the week, led by the Nasdaq +3.3% followed by the S&P 500 +1.05, while the Dow Jones lost -0.15%. Markets were uplifted by incremental declines in inflation and a lower option of 0.25% Fed rate increase. Also, The Federal Reserve comments offered silver lining: “While recent developments are encouraging, we will need substantially more evidence to be confident that inflation is on a sustained downward path,” and “it’s good news that declines in inflation in recent months have not come at the expense of a weaker labor market.”