Weekly Review for week ending 10-18-24
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Both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ inched upward last week, adding 0.47% and 0.17%, respectively. This puts the S&P 500 up 22.95% and the NASDAQ up 23.17% so far this year (FactSet). What happens during the rest of the year is anybody's guess, but we’ve certainly enjoyed a good run so far. Hopefully, the inflation figures, unemployment data, and GDP don’t give us too many surprises. With the trend of stable economic data we’ve received, I’d expect this to continue. Of course, with an election on the horizon, we could see some added volatility, not to mention the ongoing unrest in the Middle East and the situation between Russia and Ukraine. Fingers crossed.
Looking Ahead
This week, we have very little on the economic calendar and should enjoy another quiet week. Let’s hope we can continue to ride this wave out. The next Federal Reserve rate announcement is on November 7th, followed by another on December 18th. I agree with the consensus on the CME FedWatch Tool that we can expect a 0.25% decrease at each meeting, provided nothing dramatic occurs between now and then. Economically, we just had the CPI number on October 10th so no surprises there, and the next one will come in after the Fed announcement on November 13th. We’ll get the next GDP estimate on October 30th, followed by the PCE release on Halloween.
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