PUT IN WORK (1/20/2025)

The market is closed today, but we decided to provide investors with another issue anyway!

The stock market made an impressive comeback last week, with indices catapulting higher despite market troubles in the weeks prior. The S&P 500 (SPY) rose 3%, and the Nasdaq (QQQ) rose an equally impressive 2.9%, temporarily erasing the losses incurred for January thus far.

The week was off to a rough start, with Monday seeing stocks open at a point lower than anything we’ve seen since November. Despite being down nearly a percent at open, the market was up by around 0.1% by closing time. Though it’s not a big number, it’s substantial considering its performance earlier in the morning. Tuesday was a bit shaky, although markets ended fairly neutral by closing time thanks to a surprisingly soft PPI report, indicating a rise of 0.2% in December, down from 0.4% in November and from the estimated 0.4% anticipated by analysts.

Wednesday was different but in a good way. Thanks to crucial CPI data and strong bank earnings, investors urged the market even higher, with the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq rising 1.4% and 1.5%, respectively. Good earnings supplemented the CPI data, which was the backbone of the surge, fueling investors with the hope that rate cuts aren’t out of the picture for the Fed in their upcoming meetings.

Thursday saw Wednesday’s market gainers slip lower and drag the whole market down with them, but not by much. This reversal was all gone on Friday, with the S&P 500 posting its best week in two months as investors found some sound footing. Crypto also pushed higher, climbing to nearly $106k, its highest price in nearly a month.

(Nasdaq ETF (QQQ) price from January 2023 - 2024 — each candle is 1 week. Chart provided by tradingview.com.)

PORTFOLIO UPDATE

Our portfolio moved up alongside the market, seeing a moderate increase in the face of what investors perceive as good news. We plan to hold all currently owned stocks for the foreseeable future. As always, thank you for reading, and happy investing.