It was a record week for the S&P 500 as it closed at an all-time high of 5088 on Friday. After Mondays holiday, the S&P 500 posted its only down day for the week on Tuesday, setting the stage for a flat Wednesday as the markets were waiting for Nvidias (NVDA) earnings report after the close. In last weeks update we said that A good report could be very bullish for the markets as NVDA ranks as the fifth largest market cap stock in the S&P 500, and that came true. The bull was in full force on Thursday as the S&P 500 gapped up at the open and continued upward through the close, posting not just a daily move of over 1%, but gaining over 2% and setting a new record high. On Friday the S&P 500 opened at 5100, and by 0945 made a new intraday high of 5110 before drifting lower but still closing at another new record closing high. From a technical perspective lets look at recent 2% or more daily gains of the S&P 500. The last time we had a 2% or more daily gain was on 6 January 2023, and that was the only one in all of a bullish 2023. In 2022 there were 23 instances and that was a bearish year highlighted by volatility. Additionally, in 2022 there were 122 days of more than 1% daily moves, split almost evenly between up and down, and the most in any year since we started tracking that in 2016. In contrast, in 2024 weve had 7, 5 up and 2 down. Also last week we mentioned that one characteristic of a bullish trend is to see a pattern of higher weekly highs and higher weekly lows, and that streak remains intact at seven for the S&P 500. Next week we get the GDP numbers on Wednesday and then on Thursday, 29 February, we get the Core PCE inflation. For TSP TIPS all three equity funds have Composite Scores that are maxed out and their Performance Rankings are C, followed by S, followed by I. Additionally, the C and I funds closed at record highs on Friday. As such we recommend a slight investment mix adjustment for the second of the month.
It was a record week for the S&P 500 as it closed at an all-time high of 5088 on Friday. After Mondays holiday, the S&P 500 posted its only down day for the week on Tuesday, setting the stage for a flat Wednesday as the markets were waiting for Nvidias (NVDA) earnings report after the close. In last weeks update we said that A good report could be very bullish for the markets as NVDA ranks as the fifth largest market cap stock in the S&P 500, and that came true. The bull was in full force on Thursday as the S&P 500 gapped up at the open and continued upward through the close, posting not just a daily move of over 1%, but gaining over 2% and setting a new record high. On Friday the S&P 500 opened at 5100, and by 0945 made a new intraday high of 5110 before drifting lower but still closing at another new record closing high. From a technical perspective lets look at recent 2% or more daily gains of the S&P 500. The last time we had a 2% or more daily gain was on 6 January 2023, and that was the only one in all of a bullish 2023. In 2022 there were 23 instances and that was a bearish year highlighted by volatility. Additionally, in 2022 there were 122 days of more than 1% daily moves, split almost evenly between up and down, and the most in any year since we started tracking that in 2016. In contrast, in 2024 weve had 7, 5 up and 2 down. Also last week we mentioned that one characteristic of a bullish trend is to see a pattern of higher weekly highs and higher weekly lows, and that streak remains intact at seven for the S&P 500. Next week we get the GDP numbers on Wednesday and then on Thursday, 29 February, we get the Core PCE inflation. For TSP TIPS all three equity funds have Composite Scores that are maxed out and their Performance Rankings are C, followed by S, followed by I. Additionally, the C and I funds closed at record highs on Friday. As such we recommend a slight investment mix adjustment for the second of the month.