Friends
Holy moly, today’s first look at 4th quarter 2023 GDP was quite a shock as it showed the economy grew at 3.3% vs. the expected 2% that economists were predicting. Also, personal consumption was up 2.8% vs. the 2.5% expected, while the Core PCE (personal consumption expenditures) Price Index, an inflation measure and one that the Fed prefers, was 2% which is right at the number the Fed is shooting for. Talk about a Goldilocks scenario. It appears that the market had the economy right even if the “experts” did not. The old Wall Street adage that the market anticipates months ahead what will happen with the economy appears to have been pretty accurate given the rally since October. Why stocks aren’t surging even higher today is likely because they have already moved a tremendous amount in 4 months.
As for today, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 242 points to finish the day at 38,049. The S&P 500 was up 25 points to close at 4,894. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 28 points to close at 15,510. Gold was up $2 to trade at $2,017 per ounce, while oil was up $2.20 to trade at $77.29 per barrel WTI.
Earnings continue to propel individual stocks in different directions with Tesla tumbling after their report and IBM surging after theirs. Remember next week we get a look at earnings from some of the biggest growth names in the market, so the volatility, at least for individual stocks, is likely to continue. The market averages on the other hand continue to push higher in a somewhat orderly manner. Let’s see how the week finishes out tomorrow.
Have a nice evening everyone.
