The S&P 500 scored its first positive week of 2024 as it closed Friday at 4783. The majority of the weeks gains were on Monday as the S&P 500 had its first daily gain of over 1% for the year. Monday also saw Boeing fall off as their door mishap would eventually make this the worst week for Boeing stock in more than a year and a half. On Tuesday the SEC announced that Bitcoin ETFs were approved for trading, but that was quickly retracted as a hack. That said, the SEC did give their approval the next day and on Thursday eleven Bitcoin ETFs hit the marketplace. Before Thursdays open the Consumer Price Index (CPI) number came in slightly higher than expected which led to a down morning before reversing direction to the upside at noon. Before Fridays open we had more Inflation news as the Producer Price index came in lower than expected and the S&P 500 gapped up at the open, crossed the 4,800 level within the first ten minutes, but then fell off on the news that the US and UK had acted against the Houthis in Yemen. In response, the price of crude quickly increased to $75 per barrel, the highest level since 2021. In other Friday news, Microsoft overtook Apple and is now the largest market cap stock, and the Japan Nikkei Index closed at a new 33-year high of 35,577. From a technical perspective, the S&P 500 took out the high of the previous week, which was bullish. We also continue to see the Bollinger Band Index, which measures volatility, shrink to a low reading of 27. A reading below 30 usually indicates that the markets are near the end of their consolidation period and could be poised for a breakout. And, with earnings season commencing this past Friday, we could have the impetus for that breakout being to the upside. As noted in previous updates, we are just below the S&P 500s record close of 4797 and intraday record high of 4818. A breakout above those resistance levels could result in increased demand for stocks and higher prices as investors experience FOMO, or Fear Of Missing Out. Next week will be holiday shortened as we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday. For TSP TIPS the C fund made a new all-time high on Friday and now has the same Composite Score as the I fund. It should be noted that the I funds underlying index is the MSCI EAFE (Europe, Australasia, Far East) Index, with Japanese exchanges being the index's largest allocation at 21.22%. As such, we are recommending the following new investment mix.
The S&P 500 scored its first positive week of 2024 as it closed Friday at 4783. The majority of the weeks gains were on Monday as the S&P 500 had its first daily gain of over 1% for the year. Monday also saw Boeing fall off as their door mishap would eventually make this the worst week for Boeing stock in more than a year and a half. On Tuesday the SEC announced that Bitcoin ETFs were approved for trading, but that was quickly retracted as a hack. That said, the SEC did give their approval the next day and on Thursday eleven Bitcoin ETFs hit the marketplace. Before Thursdays open the Consumer Price Index (CPI) number came in slightly higher than expected which led to a down morning before reversing direction to the upside at noon. Before Fridays open we had more Inflation news as the Producer Price index came in lower than expected and the S&P 500 gapped up at the open, crossed the 4,800 level within the first ten minutes, but then fell off on the news that the US and UK had acted against the Houthis in Yemen. In response, the price of crude quickly increased to $75 per barrel, the highest level since 2021. In other Friday news, Microsoft overtook Apple and is now the largest market cap stock, and the Japan Nikkei Index closed at a new 33-year high of 35,577. From a technical perspective, the S&P 500 took out the high of the previous week, which was bullish. We also continue to see the Bollinger Band Index, which measures volatility, shrink to a low reading of 27. A reading below 30 usually indicates that the markets are near the end of their consolidation period and could be poised for a breakout. And, with earnings season commencing this past Friday, we could have the impetus for that breakout being to the upside. As noted in previous updates, we are just below the S&P 500s record close of 4797 and intraday record high of 4818. A breakout above those resistance levels could result in increased demand for stocks and higher prices as investors experience FOMO, or Fear Of Missing Out. Next week will be holiday shortened as we celebrate Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day on Monday. For TSP TIPS the C fund made a new all-time high on Friday and now has the same Composite Score as the I fund. It should be noted that the I funds underlying index is the MSCI EAFE (Europe, Australasia, Far East) Index, with Japanese exchanges being the index's largest allocation at 21.22%. As such, we are recommending the following new investment mix.