WEEKLY MARKET RECAP – MARCH 1, 2024
The S&P 500 saw an approximately 1% increase, while the NASDAQ surged by nearly 2% on Thursday, surpassing its previous record high set in November 2021. So far this year, both indexes have recorded positive results in seven out of nine weeks.
In February, the S&P 500 reached new record levels eight times, recording a 5.2% overall increase and extending its streak of positive performance to four consecutive months. Over this period, the index’s cumulative gain amounted to 21.5%. All 11 sectors experienced growth last month, with communication services leading the pack.
During the recently concluded fourth-quarter earnings season, companies in the S&P 500 reported an average earnings increase of 4.0% compared to the same quarter a year earlier, according to FactSet data. This marked the second consecutive year-over-year earnings rise following a 4.7% increase in the third quarter. Communication services showed remarkable strength with a 45.0% gain, leading the sector for the second consecutive quarter.
The U.S. Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge revealed a continued but slower increase in consumer prices. In January, the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index registered a 2.8% annual rate, excluding volatile food and energy prices. This matched the expectations of most economists and marked the slowest rise since March 2021.
U.S. crude oil prices surged past $80 per barrel on Friday, reaching their highest level in approximately four months. The weekly increase exceeded 4% amid concerns that a coalition of oil-producing nations might prolong recent production cuts.
Inflation eased across the 20 countries using the euro as their currency, with the eurozone’s annual inflation rate declining to 2.6% in February from 2.8% in the previous month. Core inflation, excluding volatile food and energy categories, also dropped to 3.1% from 3.3%.
A monthly labor market report set to be released on Friday will indicate whether the trend of better-than-expected job numbers continued into February. In January, the economy added 353,000 new jobs, double the number anticipated by most economists, while the unemployment rate held steady at 3.7%.
Major U.S. Economic Reports
| Report | Period | Actual | Previous |
| New home sales | Jan. | 661,000 | 651,000 |
| Durable-goods orders | Jan. | -6.1% | -0.3% |
| Durable-goods minus transportation | Jan. | -0.3% | -0.1% |
| S&P Case-Shiller home price index (20 cities) | Dec. | 6.1% | 5.4%% |
| Consumer confidence | Feb. | 106.7 | 110.9 |
| GDP (first revision) | Q4 | 3.2% | 3.3% |
| Advanced U.S. trade balance in goods | Jan. | $90.2B | $87.9B |
| Advanced retail inventories | Jan. | 0.5% | 0.6% |
| Advanced wholesale inventories | Jan. | -0.1% | 0.4% |
| Initial jobless claims | Feb. 24 | 215,000 | 202,000 |
| Personal income | Jan. | 1.0% | 0.3% |
| Personal spending | Jan. | 0.2% | 0.7% |
| PCE index | Jan. | 0.3% | 0.1% |
| Core PCE index | Jan. | 0.4% | 0.1% |
| PCE (year-over-year) | 2.4% | 2.6% | |
| Core PCE (year-over-year) | 2.8% | 2.9% | |
| Chicago Business Barometer (PMI) | Feb. | 44.0 | 46.0 |
| Pending home sales | Jan. | -4.9% | 8.3% |
| S&P U.S. manufacturing PMI (final) | Feb. | 52.2 | 51.5 |
| ISM manufacturing | Feb. | 47.8% | 49.1% |
| Construction spending | Jan. | -0.2% | 1.1% |
| Consumer sentiment (final) | Feb. | 76.9 | 79.6 |
| U.S. car sales | Feb. | 15 million |
Closing Prices for the Week
| Contract | Close |
|---|---|
| Dow Jones Industrials Average | 39,087.38 |
| Nasdaq Composite | 16,274.94 |
| S&P 500 Index | 5,137.08 |
| CBOE Volatility Index | 13.11 |
| S&P GSCI | 564.66 |
| U.S. Dollar Index | 103.861 |
| 10-Year T-Note (Jun ’24) | 111-010 |
| Crude Oil WTI (Apr ’24) | 79.97 |
| Natural Gas (Apr ’24) | 1.835 |
| Gold (Apr ’24) | 2,095.7 |
| Silver (May ’24) | 23.364 |
| Corn (May ’24) | 424-6 |
| Wheat (May ’24) | 557-6 |
| Soybean (May ’24) | 1151-2 |
| Coffee (May ’24) | 183.30 |
| Sugar #11 (May ’24) | 21.09 |
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<p>The post Weekly Market Recap – March 1, 2024 first appeared on World Cup Trading Championships.</p>