The S&P 500 had five straight days of new record highs before closing down slightly on Friday at 4890. Marching ahead with approximately 0.25% gains on Monday and Tuesday, the S&P 500 gapped up at Wednesday open and quickly advanced above the 4,900 level before falling off into the close. Before Thursdays open Q4 2023 GDP came in at an annualized rate of 3.3%, much better than 2.0% forecasts and adding on to the 4.9% rate in Q3. On that news, the S&P 500 again gapped up at the open and finished the day 0.5% better. Before Fridays open Januarys Core PCE prices rose by 0.2% from December. That said, annual core PCE prices edged 2.9% higher, below market estimates of 3% and marking the lowest reading since February 2021. By mid-morning the S&P 500 again crossed above 4,900 but then took a breather after those five straight days of new records. From a technical perspective, the markets appear to be advancing at a steady pace, up just over 1% for the week, making it three up weeks in a row, and up in 12 of the last 13 weeks. Next week will be big as we have the Fed decision meeting on Wednesday, the employment numbers on Friday, and 40% of the S&P 500 companies reporting earnings. All told, if the S&P 500 were to close above that 4,900 psychological level it could lead to more demand/Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) as we discussed last week. For TSP TIPS the C fund remains at the top of the Performance Ranking leaderboard as it mirrored the S&P 500 with 5 straight new records through Thursdays close. As such we recommend no changes to our current investment mix.
The S&P 500 had five straight days of new record highs before closing down slightly on Friday at 4890. Marching ahead with approximately 0.25% gains on Monday and Tuesday, the S&P 500 gapped up at Wednesday open and quickly advanced above the 4,900 level before falling off into the close. Before Thursdays open Q4 2023 GDP came in at an annualized rate of 3.3%, much better than 2.0% forecasts and adding on to the 4.9% rate in Q3. On that news, the S&P 500 again gapped up at the open and finished the day 0.5% better. Before Fridays open Januarys Core PCE prices rose by 0.2% from December. That said, annual core PCE prices edged 2.9% higher, below market estimates of 3% and marking the lowest reading since February 2021. By mid-morning the S&P 500 again crossed above 4,900 but then took a breather after those five straight days of new records. From a technical perspective, the markets appear to be advancing at a steady pace, up just over 1% for the week, making it three up weeks in a row, and up in 12 of the last 13 weeks. Next week will be big as we have the Fed decision meeting on Wednesday, the employment numbers on Friday, and 40% of the S&P 500 companies reporting earnings. All told, if the S&P 500 were to close above that 4,900 psychological level it could lead to more demand/Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) as we discussed last week. For TSP TIPS the C fund remains at the top of the Performance Ranking leaderboard as it mirrored the S&P 500 with 5 straight new records through Thursdays close. As such we recommend no changes to our current investment mix.