The Dow was down for a fifth straight week, while the S&P 500 was down four of the last five, closing Friday at 4204. The war on Ukraine dominated the news, but it was a tumultuous week. Monday saw the S&P 500 having its worst day since October 2020, while the Nasdaq Composite slid into bear market territory, down 20% from its record high from November. Snapping back, on Wednesday the S&P 500 notched its biggest one-day gain since June 2020, while the Nasdaq Composite experienced its best day since November 2020. Wednesday also saw something you dont see every day, and that was Amazon announcing a 20:1 stock split, the first since September 1999. Moving on to Thursday, the consumer price index increased 7.9% in February for a new 40-year high. This was followed by a Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen interview, saying she expects price increases to be a fact of life in the U.S. for another year. And finally Friday, when the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index report came in at 59.7, the lowest since September 2011. On the technical front, we again had a lot of volatility with over 1% moves on three of the days. Friday was one of those days, where the S&P 500 trudged downward throughout the day before closing at its lows as we went into the weekend, setting us up for a negative Monday opening. Next week Id expect more of the same, but the big news will be the Fed meeting and possible rate hike decision mid-week. For TSP TIPS, the S, I and F funds all made new 52 week lows this week, with the F fund closing in on pandemic March 2020 lows. And needless to say, all funds have a negative Performance Ranking, including the C fund. That said, well keep our current allocation with no changes recommended.
The Dow was down for a fifth straight week, while the S&P 500 was down four of the last five, closing Friday at 4204. The war on Ukraine dominated the news, but it was a tumultuous week. Monday saw the S&P 500 having its worst day since October 2020, while the Nasdaq Composite slid into bear market territory, down 20% from its record high from November. Snapping back, on Wednesday the S&P 500 notched its biggest one-day gain since June 2020, while the Nasdaq Composite experienced its best day since November 2020. Wednesday also saw something you dont see every day, and that was Amazon announcing a 20:1 stock split, the first since September 1999. Moving on to Thursday, the consumer price index increased 7.9% in February for a new 40-year high. This was followed by a Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen interview, saying she expects price increases to be a fact of life in the U.S. for another year. And finally Friday, when the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index report came in at 59.7, the lowest since September 2011. On the technical front, we again had a lot of volatility with over 1% moves on three of the days. Friday was one of those days, where the S&P 500 trudged downward throughout the day before closing at its lows as we went into the weekend, setting us up for a negative Monday opening. Next week Id expect more of the same, but the big news will be the Fed meeting and possible rate hike decision mid-week. For TSP TIPS, the S, I and F funds all made new 52 week lows this week, with the F fund closing in on pandemic March 2020 lows. And needless to say, all funds have a negative Performance Ranking, including the C fund. That said, well keep our current allocation with no changes recommended.