Author: Aileen Beno-Lietz

Last Friday, the possibility of a March rate cut decreased. The waning optimism sent the yield curve higher and pulled the bond market down.

S&P 500 reached a new all-time closing high despite Tesla dropping 13.6 percent after disappointing earnings results and forward-looking guidance.

The Major Markets closed out 2023 with one last week of gains. For the S&P 500, this marked the ninth consecutive week of advances. This is the longest stretch of positive performance for the S&P 500 since 2004.
2023 had a total of 32 positive weeks and 20 weeks with losses. Altogether, the S&P 500 closed out the year with a gain of 24.23 percent. This was second to the Nasdaq which added an impressive 43.42 percent return for the year.

The Fed voted to hold interest rates steady at 525 – 550 basis points. However, it was Powell’s comments after the meeting that caught the markets’ attention. While there was still a lot of hedging in his statement on Wednesday, his comments stood as a marked shift in tone. This gave quite the gift to both the equity and bond markets.

The Major Markets closed mostly higher last week, although there was some weakness after a number of back-to-back weeks of gains.