The S&P 500 was down slightly for the week closing Friday at 5123. Monday the markets were flat, but on Tuesday the S&P 500 gapped down at the open as investors took some money off the table. All told the S&P 500 hit session lows until 30 minutes prior to the close. However, in that last half hour the S&P 500 did recover somewhat, but still had a daily loss of just over one percent. Wednesday and Thursday were dominated by Fed Chair Powell telling legislatures that inflation data continues to show continued cooling, and he expects interest rates to come down this year. By Thursdays close, the S&P 500 reversed all of Tuesdays losses and then some as it closed at a new record high of 5157. Before Fridays open February jobs data offered some conflicting signals as the number of jobs added was much more than expected, but the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked higher to 3.9%. When the markets opened, the S&P 500 surged to an intraday record high of 5189 at around 1000, but then weakened throughout the day as the semiconductor sector led the sell off. Nvidia finished down more than 5% in its worst session since May, but its shares still finished up more than 6% on the week and is up 76% Year To Date (YTD). Friday also saw the price of bitcoin jumping to a new record, briefly breaking through $70,000 for the first time ever. From a technical perspective, yes the S&P 500 was down for the week, but it did hit that new intraday high of 5189 six hours prior to Fridays close. That makes it nine straight weeks of higher highs, fueled by a decrease in interest rates with the 10 year Treasury dropping from 4.354% on 22 February to 4.089% on Friday. For next week the big news will be inflation numbers on Tuesday and Thursday, followed by consumer sentiment on Friday. For TSP TIPS all three equity funds (C/S/I) made new 52 week highs on Thursday and closed the week with Composite Scores at or close to 100. That said, we are seeing a narrowing and parity of the Performance Ranking between #1 C at 10.78%, S at 10.56%, and I at 9.94%. Well see how that shakes out next week, which could lead to a new investment mix.
The S&P 500 was down slightly for the week closing Friday at 5123. Monday the markets were flat, but on Tuesday the S&P 500 gapped down at the open as investors took some money off the table. All told the S&P 500 hit session lows until 30 minutes prior to the close. However, in that last half hour the S&P 500 did recover somewhat, but still had a daily loss of just over one percent. Wednesday and Thursday were dominated by Fed Chair Powell telling legislatures that inflation data continues to show continued cooling, and he expects interest rates to come down this year. By Thursdays close, the S&P 500 reversed all of Tuesdays losses and then some as it closed at a new record high of 5157. Before Fridays open February jobs data offered some conflicting signals as the number of jobs added was much more than expected, but the unemployment rate unexpectedly ticked higher to 3.9%. When the markets opened, the S&P 500 surged to an intraday record high of 5189 at around 1000, but then weakened throughout the day as the semiconductor sector led the sell off. Nvidia finished down more than 5% in its worst session since May, but its shares still finished up more than 6% on the week and is up 76% Year To Date (YTD). Friday also saw the price of bitcoin jumping to a new record, briefly breaking through $70,000 for the first time ever. From a technical perspective, yes the S&P 500 was down for the week, but it did hit that new intraday high of 5189 six hours prior to Fridays close. That makes it nine straight weeks of higher highs, fueled by a decrease in interest rates with the 10 year Treasury dropping from 4.354% on 22 February to 4.089% on Friday. For next week the big news will be inflation numbers on Tuesday and Thursday, followed by consumer sentiment on Friday. For TSP TIPS all three equity funds (C/S/I) made new 52 week highs on Thursday and closed the week with Composite Scores at or close to 100. That said, we are seeing a narrowing and parity of the Performance Ranking between #1 C at 10.78%, S at 10.56%, and I at 9.94%. Well see how that shakes out next week, which could lead to a new investment mix.