Last Week’s Summary
- S&P 500 Index fell 0.61%
- International Equities fell 1.04%
- Emerging Markets rose 0.26%
- U.S. 10-Year Treasury Yield rose to 4.39%
- Initial Jobless Claims rose to 242k
- CPI Rose to 2.7%; Core stayed at 3.3%
- PPI rose to 3.0%; Core rose to 3.4%
What to Watch for This Week
- M, 12/16/24 Empire Manufacturing, S&P Global U.S. Manufacturing PMI
- T, 12/17/24 Retail Sales Advance, Industrial Production
- W, 12/18/24 MBA Mortgage Applications, FOMC Rate Decisions,
- Th, 12/19/24 GDP Annualized, Initial Jobless Claims, Existing Home Sales
- F, 12/20/24 Personal Income, Personal Spending, U. of Mich. Sentiment
Weekly Market Recap
This year’s frontrunners, major technology stocks, set a new record, while Treasuries tumbled as investors anticipated a slowdown in the Federal Reserve’s interest-rate cuts ahead of next week’s meeting.
The Nasdaq 100 climbed for the fourth consecutive week, driven by a Friday rally in Broadcom Inc. and strength across the chip-technology sector. The tech-heavy index rose 0.8% to an all-time high, marking its second record close in three days, while other major U.S. stock indexes struggled.
The S&P 500 slipped 0.6% this week, and the blue-chip Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 1.8%. Market participants are eyeing a widely expected quarter-point rate cut from the Federal Reserve on Wednesday, which could fuel this year’s remarkable rally.
The S&P 500, led largely by tech stocks, has surged 27% year-to-date, with expectations that the U.S. will continue to outpace European markets again in 2025. Meanwhile, the bond market faced steep declines, with Treasuries on track for their worst week in over two months.
The yield on the 10-Year Treasury climbed to 4.40%. Mixed economic data this week-ranging from rising wholesale inflation to higher-than-expected jobless claims-prompted swaps traders to scale back expectations for the Fed’s rate cuts.
They now anticipate three quarter-point reductions over the next year, compared to earlier forecasts of four. Further pullbacks remain possible.
60-Second Breakdown:
Redwood Senior Analyst Michael C. Sasaki, CFA® discusses recent market performance and explains this week’s chart.
The Best Invest Advise EVER! $2.7 billion Asset Manager:
Bryan Bourgeois, CEO/Founder of Shorebreak Capital, discusses why 90% of investors fail and how to avoid these common investment mistakes with Conner Small, Partner at Redwood Investment Management, Shorebreak Capital’s dedicated asset manager.
