In a holiday shortened week the S&P 500 staged an advance of just over 1%, closing at 6,909 and breaking a two-week losing streak. Tuesday was a muted session with the major averages eking out small gains as the software sector remained under pressure concerning artificial intelligence disruption. On Wednesday the S&P 500 rallied in the first 90 minutes and punched above the 6,900 level, but fell off in the afternoon. Thursday was a wait and see day as the markets were waiting on Fridays fourth quarter GDP report, which came in at just 1.4%, well below expectations and a sharp slowdown from the prior quarters 4.4% pace. On the inflation front core PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures) held at 3%, in line with expectations but still above the Feds 2% target. And to top off Fridays news, stocks got a bump up in the afternoon after the Supreme Court ruled against Trumps tariffs, potentially providing relief for companies burdened by higher duty costs. From a technical perspective the markets are stubborn and remain range bound. While it was encouraging to see the S&P 500 close the week above 6,900, this weeks high and low were both lower than the previous weeks high and low. For next week theres not much on the economic front besides Fridays month over month PPI number. For TSP TIPS again the I fund remains at the top of the Performance Ranking leaderboard as it hit a new record on Friday. Finally. next week marks the end of February and we still have a least one remaining investment mix in the on-deck circle in all three models. As such stand by for a possible new investment mix sent out after Wednesdays close.
In a holiday shortened week the S&P 500 staged an advance of just over 1%, closing at 6,909 and breaking a two-week losing streak. Tuesday was a muted session with the major averages eking out small gains as the software sector remained under pressure concerning artificial intelligence disruption. On Wednesday the S&P 500 rallied in the first 90 minutes and punched above the 6,900 level, but fell off in the afternoon. Thursday was a wait and see day as the markets were waiting on Fridays fourth quarter GDP report, which came in at just 1.4%, well below expectations and a sharp slowdown from the prior quarters 4.4% pace. On the inflation front core PCE (Personal Consumption Expenditures) held at 3%, in line with expectations but still above the Feds 2% target. And to top off Fridays news, stocks got a bump up in the afternoon after the Supreme Court ruled against Trumps tariffs, potentially providing relief for companies burdened by higher duty costs. From a technical perspective the markets are stubborn and remain range bound. While it was encouraging to see the S&P 500 close the week above 6,900, this weeks high and low were both lower than the previous weeks high and low. For next week theres not much on the economic front besides Fridays month over month PPI number. For TSP TIPS again the I fund remains at the top of the Performance Ranking leaderboard as it hit a new record on Friday. Finally. next week marks the end of February and we still have a least one remaining investment mix in the on-deck circle in all three models. As such stand by for a possible new investment mix sent out after Wednesdays close.