SPY Chart done on hourly timeframe. Bulls squeezed markets into new highs last week after earnings from Amazon and Meta sent the technology sector higher. Many feared that tech stocks would miss on earnings this quarter and force markets back down, however so far most companies have met analysts’ targets. Amazon, Meta, Netflix, and Microsoft have especially stood out as their results were far above expectations, but more importantly their guidance reflects a strong 2024. With markets already at a “extreme greed” reading, earnings acted as a catalyst and fueled stocks higher to seal off the week. Coming into this week our focus will mostly be on technical analysis. There aren’t many notable reports on the economic front, but...
SPY Chart done on hourly timeframe. The S&P500 broke new barriers last week after a tech stock rally fueled markets to all time highs. The spark that lit off the move was the strong quarterly earnings from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (See earnings blog post from January 18th on our website). The semiconductor giant beat analysts’ expectations and helped boost other mega large chip manufacturers such as Nvidia and AMD to new all time highs. More earnings are expected this week from key companies such as Netflix, Tesla, and IBM. Investors will be watching closely for the 2024 outlook these companies post because they’ll provide more clarity on what to expect in the quarters ahead. On the economic front, last week...
SPY Chart done on hourly timeframe. Markets struggled to hold a direction last week as uncertainty about inflation returned after higher than expected CPI data. Year over year consumer inflation ticked up to 3.4%, .3% higher than the previous reading, but producer side inflation ticked down by .1%. The mixed data, combined with mixed bank earnings, left the market about flat to end the week. Big banks reported earnings on Friday, but many of them missed profit expectations, with names like JPMorgan citing last year’s buyouts as the culprit. Most bank stocks closed lower on Friday as traders sold shares, fearing that falling rates will send bank profits lower in 2024. Economic reports slow down this week, but Fed members...
SPY Chart done on hourly timeframe. Market had a rough start to 2024 after the most valuable company in the world, Apple, received a stock downgrade to start off the year. Barclays unexpected move to downgrade the stock sent shares of Apple sharply lower and brought down major tech and indexes down with it. The downgrade was a rude-awakening to investors who have been riding the high of the bullish rally, and its timing to start off the year leaves many to question what kind of year markets will have. The uncertainty continued into Friday when the latest labor market report showed robust hiring in December, signaling a stronger than expected U.S. labor market. Not only did hiring grow, but...
SPY Chart done on hourly timeframe. The Federal Reserve sent markets higher last week after announcing their plan to lower interest rates by 75 basis point in 2024. The unexpected announcement caused a rally in global equities as it signaled that The Fed have “defeated” inflation and were successful in their economic soft-landing plan. Last week’s CPI data reinforced their decision by showing inflation reading at 3.1% compared to 3.2% the month prior. This week’s PCE report, which is The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge, will also give markets an update on inflation. October’s reading was 3.0%, so a reading below 3.0% for November will help boost markets as it will be closer to The Fed’s overall target of 2.0%. Retail...
