PUT IN WORK (8/12/2024)

The stock market had an interesting yet somewhat predictable week, echoing some of what we said in our previous issue. Firstly, as we mentioned last week, volatility has continued to be relevant, with stocks swinging wildly in a positive direction—sort of. Stocks had a primarily neutral week, with the S&P 500 (SPY) ending almost entirely flat and the Nasdaq (QQQ) ending up a measly 0.4%. But we just said that stocks were volatile and swung positively, so what gives?

To answer that question, we need to look at the trading week as a whole. On Monday, several indices opened 4-6% lower than they closed in the previous trading week, scaring investors. However, investors fought back the violent downward trend by the end of the day. Overall, by the end of Monday, stocks in the S&P 500 experienced the most single-day movement by volume they’d seen since March of 2023—volatile indeed. In contrast, the following days didn’t see significant volume or movement, but by Friday, stocks were up 4-6% higher than that weekly low, showing some heart and courage. As for if that courage will carry into this week, only time will tell.

There’s not a whole lot to look forward to this week, but there are some things we’d like to mention. Perhaps most important is the consumer price index, which comes out this Wednesday. Naturally, investors will look to this report for guidance—as they often do—meaning Wednesday could be a make-or-break-it moment for this week’s movement. That aside, investors will also have an eye on upcoming earnings: Walmart (WMT), Alibaba (BABA), Dole (DOLE), and Cisco (CSCO) are just some of the companies set to report. Many, however, are already looking to Nvidia’s (NVDA) earnings report, which will come in just a couple of weeks.

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

PORTFOLIO UPDATE

Despite the week’s market stagnation, our stocks did quite well. While some ended the week reasonably flat, others saw gains in the double digits, to our surprise. We hope to see this positive movement continue, and we plan to hold all currently owned stocks for the foreseeable future. As always, thank you for reading, and happy investing.