PUT IN WORK (5/6/2024)

The stock market was off to a rough start last week, but after some extended deliberation from investors, Friday pushed stocks into the green. While Monday through Thursday proved difficult for investors, Friday was quite the opposite, with the S&P 500 (SPY) and Nasdaq (QQQ) ending up 1.2% and 2%, respectively. Weekly movement is slightly less flattering, with both indices up 0.6% and 1%, respectively, but seeing as they both fought their way to that point, it's still more than impressive.

While the market looked fine on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday's Fed meeting proved challenging for investors. Nothing unusual happened during the conference, with the Fed opting to keep rates steady for the sixth consecutive month. Powell's language was, however, more hawkish than investors would have liked. While the Fed is still hopeful about their plan to combat inflation, they're still determining the timing. We've known this for quite some time now, but the thought and confirmation continue to haunt investors and stifle their confidence. Investors' concerns for the future were only strengthened when Powell claimed that the next move in regard to rates probably wouldn't be a cut. The likely outcome is that they'll keep them steady next month, but due to the Fed's language, another hike is still left as a possibility.

Earnings reports played a significant role in Friday's upward movement, with several stocks reporting exceptional earnings. The standout performer was Apple (AAPL), whose earnings report led to an 8% surge in the stock's value on Friday morning. The day ended with a modest but impressive 6% gain.

As we advance, the signs investors have been looking at are all the same: core price inflation, significant company earnings, rates, etc. This will continue to be the case going forward. If earnings continue to impress investors this season, we'll likely see the momentum from this reversal carry throughout the month.

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

PORTFOLIO UPDATE

Most of the stocks in our portfolio either remained flat or moved upward along with the market. Some, such as Snapchat (SNAP), have exceeded expectations, increasing double digits. Unfortunately, two of our stocks have filed for bankruptcy in the United States: View (VIEW) and Gol Airlines (GOL). Thus, they've both been removed from the portfolio. We had high hopes for both of these stocks heading into the future, but unfortunately, things didn't play out as anticipated. We'll be holding all other currently owned stocks for the foreseeable future, and as always, thanks for reading, and happy investing.