In this week’s market update we as always start in the US, cross to Europe, Asia and end in Australia. Markets have started to look through the recession fears it seems, banking on the Fed slowing its rake hikes, and reversing later in 2023.
Yet the signals are still mixed, and earnings are clearly under pressure in many market sectors. But it does seem to me to be a question about seeing the wood for the trees. The bigger trend on markets still is pointing lower, despite the short term moves higher. We are not, I think out of the woods yet… remembering Central Banks over nearly 20 years have tried to engineer growth through massive stimulation and debt, and economies have been distorted beyond belief. As support is removed, asset values are still over done, and the cost of debt rises.
The Dow cut losses to close higher Friday, as investors bought the early-day dip in banks following a string of better-than-expected results, though concerns about a weaker economy linger. In the end the S&P 500 and Nasdaq finished at their highest levels in a month on Friday, leaving the S&P 500 up 4.2% so far in 2023.
For the week, the S&P 500 gained 2.7% and the Dow rose 2%. The Nasdaq increased 4.8% in its biggest weekly percentage gain since Nov. 11. The CBOE Volatility index -Wall Street’s fear gauge -closed at a one-year low. The U.S. stock market will be closed Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day holiday.
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