Strong Performance
The Weekly Update
Week of January 17th, 2023
By Christopher T. Much, CFP®, AIF®
Stocks rallied last week thanks to fresh confirmation of inflation’s cooling trend and growing optimism that an inflation slowdown may provide the Fed with space to ease up on future rate hikes.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 2.00%, while the Standard & Poor’s 500 advanced 2.67%. The Nasdaq Composite index surged 4.82% for the week. The MSCI EAFE index, which tracks developed overseas stock markets, jumped 3.32%.
Improving Sentiment
Investor sentiment came into the new year weighed down by recession fears and concerns that Fed rate hikes may “go higher for longer.” Last week a different narrative emerged. Sustained declines in inflation, a rate hike cycle nearing an end, and a resilient economy that may avoid recession resulted in a broad-based rally.
Moderating inflation was evident in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report released on Thursday, which, in combination with …