Monday marked the end of January with the S&P 500 closing down 5.3% for the month, making it the biggest January decline since 2009 and the worst month since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Tuesday saw the start of February and a seesaw week dominated by volatility and earnings. On Wednesday we saw volatility with the S&P 500 sliding 2.4% and having its worst day since last 25 February. Earnings took over on Thursday with Meta (Facebook) having its worst day ever dropping over 26% after poor earnings. On Friday Amazon reported better than expected numbers and had its biggest one-day gain (over 13%) since 2015. Also on Friday, a better-than-expected jobs report pushed the 10-year Treasury yield to 1.9%, the highest since December 2019. When all was said and done, the S&P 500 did have a positive week closing at 4500. Next week earnings season continues and Inflation and Consumer Sentiment numbers are reported on Thursday and Friday. For TSP TIPS, the scenario looks similar to last week. Both the S and I funds have their prices below their 50 day Moving Average which is below their 200 day Moving Average. The C fund is still the only one which has its 50 day Moving Average above its 200 day Moving Average, but that gap is closing. However, all three equity funds still look weak with all having a Performance Ranking of F. As such, we recommend no changes to our current allocation.
Monday marked the end of January with the S&P 500 closing down 5.3% for the month, making it the biggest January decline since 2009 and the worst month since the start of the pandemic in March 2020. Tuesday saw the start of February and a seesaw week dominated by volatility and earnings. On Wednesday we saw volatility with the S&P 500 sliding 2.4% and having its worst day since last 25 February. Earnings took over on Thursday with Meta (Facebook) having its worst day ever dropping over 26% after poor earnings. On Friday Amazon reported better than expected numbers and had its biggest one-day gain (over 13%) since 2015. Also on Friday, a better-than-expected jobs report pushed the 10-year Treasury yield to 1.9%, the highest since December 2019. When all was said and done, the S&P 500 did have a positive week closing at 4500. Next week earnings season continues and Inflation and Consumer Sentiment numbers are reported on Thursday and Friday. For TSP TIPS, the scenario looks similar to last week. Both the S and I funds have their prices below their 50 day Moving Average which is below their 200 day Moving Average. The C fund is still the only one which has its 50 day Moving Average above its 200 day Moving Average, but that gap is closing. However, all three equity funds still look weak with all having a Performance Ranking of F. As such, we recommend no changes to our current allocation.