Friends
Well, 2024 is now officially in the books. We thought the conditions for stocks were going to be good for 2024 and they were. The market averages all moved higher, but not all market averages are created equal. The S&P was up over 23%, but the equal weighted S&P was up only about 10.50%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up about 12.50% while small cap stocks were up about 10%. Bonds on the other hand did struggle with the Barclay’s Aggregate Bond Index down about 2.30% for the year.
Looking ahead it still appears the Federal Reserve will be somewhat accommodative in 2025 but perhaps much less so than market participants had been hoping. Of course we will see. The employment picture is likely to become a little more of a problem in 2025 as all the gains accrued from coming out of the pandemic have played out over the past two years. The inflation picture has surely improved over the past year and a half, but there are questions going forward. So, the conditions in 2025 might be a bit more clouded than when we were entering 2024. Nevertheless, despite a lousy final stretch where the S&P was down about 3.7% from the early December highs, it still feels like the bulls hold the high ground- at least for the time being.
As for today’s final trading session, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 29 points to finish the day at 42,544. The S&P 500 was down 25 points to close at 5,881. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 175 points to close at 19,310. Gold was up $19 to trade at $2,637 per ounce, while oil was up $.81 to trade at $71.80 per barrel WTI.
I hope it has been a great holiday season for everyone and that you have been able to enjoy time with your loved ones. Talk to you next year.
Happy New Year Everyone!
Jim
