A Look Back: A Turbulent Week
This past week served up a whirlwind in the markets. We kicked off with a “Grey Swan” moment on Monday, sparked by DeepSeek fears that hammered AI-related stocks, only to see Mega-cap earnings and an FOMC decision midweek, and then the PCE numbers on Friday.
Performance Roundup:
The Dow stood out as the top performer, closing just under +0.30% on the week.
Other indices ended lower, with the Nasdaq /QQQ being hit the hardest (down ~1.40%), largely due to the DeepSeek panic early in the week.
Despite that shaky start, U.S. indices still look strong overall for the start of 2025. In January, we saw a rebound off December and early January lows. Interestingly, the Dow emerged as the best performer last month, while the Q’s underperformed. A sign of healthy rotation to start off the year.
Coming Up: Economic Data & Fed Watch
Looking ahead, the main attractions this week are a wave of jobs data plus appearances from various Fed speakers. On Friday, we get the all-important NFP (Nonfarm Payrolls) report:
Jobs are forecast at around 175k (previous was 256k).
Unemployment Rate (UER) is expected to hold steady at 4.1%.
We also have QRA this week, and it’ll be interesting to see how Bessent handles things now that Yellen is no longer in charge.
SPX Overview
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