The major stock averages closed the holiday-shortened trading week at new highs, with the S&P 500 setting a fresh record, surpassing its January 2022 peak.
Leading the gains, the Nasdaq, particularly boosted by the Magnificent Seven (Amazon, Alphabet, Apple, Meta Platforms, Microsoft, Nvidia, Tesla), showed significant strength, registering a robust 2% increase. Nvidia demonstrated notable growth, surging by 8.74%, while Apple climbed 3.03%, driven by a substantial upgrade from Bank of America.
After two consecutive weeks of gains, all three averages are now in positive territory for the year 2024.
In terms of portfolio updates, Morgan Stanley reported better-than-expected results but faced pressure due to a cautious management tone. The wealth management business slightly missed buy-side expectations, despite beating the sell-side consensus estimate.
On the macroeconomic front, a higher-than-expected retail sales figure midweek prompted a reconsideration of estimates for potential Federal Reserve rate cuts in the coming year. This created a nuanced situation where strong data is desired to support sales and earnings growth, keeping unemployment low, yet maintaining a level of disinflation to allow room for rate cuts and support equity valuations.
Housing inflation remains a challenge, with December showing mixed signals. While housing starts and building permits exceeded expectations, single-family housing starts declined by 8.6% monthly. Existing home sales also fell below expectations, dropping 1% monthly and 6.2% year-on-year to the lowest level since 1995. This combination of low supply and high rates is contributing to elevated shelter costs.
Looking ahead to the next week, important economic updates and a surge in earnings releases are anticipated. Procter & Gamble’s quarterly report on Tuesday will be closely watched for insights into organic sales, China’s performance, and the impact of foreign exchange. Other significant events include GDP data, housing reports, and earnings releases from major companies like Netflix, Tesla, and IBM.
**Economic Calendar:**
**Monday, January 22**
Before the bell: Bank of Hawaii (BOH)
After the bell: United Airlines (UAL), Logitech International S.A. (LOGI), AGNC Investment (AGNC), Agilysys Inc (AGYS), Brown & Brown (BRO), Zions Bancorporation (ZION), CrossFirst Bankshares (CFB), Great Southern Bancorp (GSBC), Enterprise Financial Services (EFSC), Independent Bank Group (IBTX), Home Bancorp (HBCP), RBB Bancorp (RBB), SmartFinancial (SMBK), TrustCo Bank Corp NY (TRST)
**Tuesday, January 23**
Before the bell: Procter & Gamble Co. (PG), Verizon Communications (VZ), 3M Company (MMM), General Electric Co. (GE), RTX Corporation (RTX), Johnson & Johnson (JNJ), Halliburton Company (HAL), Lockheed Martin (LMT), D.R. Horton (DHI), PACCAR (PCAR), Ericsson (ERIC), Community Bank System (CBU), GATX Corporation (GATX), MakeMyTrip Limited (MMYT), Old National Bancorp (ONB), Synchrony Financial (SYF), Webster Financial (WBS), Atlantic Union Bankshares Corporation (AUB), Invesco PLC (IVZ), Peoples Bancorp Inc (PEBO), Sandy Spring Bancorp (SASR)
After the bell: Netflix (NFLX), Intuitive Surgical (ISRG), Texas Instruments Incorporated (TXN), Steel Dynamics (STLD), Baker Hughes (BKR), Stride (LRN), Canadian National Railway Company (CNI), NBT Bancorp (NBTB), East West Bancorp (EWBC), Business First Bancshares (BFST), Covenant Logistics Group, Inc (CVLG), Hanmi Financial (HAFC), National Bank Holdings Corporation (NBHC), Premier Financial (PFC), QCR Holdings (QCRH), Renasant Corporation (RNST), Triumph Financial (TFIN), Trustmark (TRMK), Veritex Holdings (VBTX), WesBanco (WSBC)
**Wednesday, January 24**
Before the bell: AT&T (T), ASML Holding (ASML), Progressive (PGR), Abbott (ABT), Amphenol (APH), Freeport-McMoRan Copper & Gold (FCX), Elevance Health (ELV), Kimberly-Clark (KMB), SAP SE (SAP), Textron (TXT), New Oriental Education and Technology Group (EDU), BOK Financial (BOKF), First BanCorp (FBP), First Community (FCCO), General Dynamics (GD), Monro (MNRO), OFG Bancorp (OFG), Prosperity Bancshares (PB), Simmons First National (SFNC), TE Connectivity Ltd. (TEL), United Community Banks (UCBI), Blue Foundry Bancorp (BLFY), Capitol Federal Financial (CFFN), HBT Financial (HBT), Teledyne Technologies (TDY)
After the bell: Tesla (TSLA), International Business Machines (IBM), ServiceNow (NOW), Las Vegas Sands Corp (LVS), Lam Research (LRCX), United Rentals (URI), W.R. Berkley Corp (WRB), Crown Castle International (CCI), Packaging Corporation of America (PKG), Seagate Technology plc (STX), CACI International, Inc (CACI), Knight-Swift Transportation Holdings (KNX), Ameriprise Financial Inc (AMP), Concentrix Corporation (CNXC), First Bank (FRBA), Liberty Energy (LBRT), ResMed (RMD), Pathward Financial (CASH), Columbia Banking System (COLB), CSX (CSX), NovaGold Resources (NG), RLI (RLI), Ethan Allen Interiors (ETD), Hexcel (HXL), Raymond James Financial (RJF)
**Thursday, January 25**
8:30 a.m. ET: Durable Goods Orders
8:30 a.m. ET: Gross Domestic Price Index
8:30 a.m. ET: Initial jobless claims
10:00 a.m. ET: New Home Sales
Before the bell: American Airlines Group (AAL), NextEra Energy Inc (NEE), Alaska Air Group (ALK), Dow Chemical Co. (DOW), Valero Energy (VLO), Blackstone (BX), Southwest Airlines Co. (LUV), Nextera Energy Partners LP (NEP), Sherwin-Williams Co. (SHW), Union Pacific (UNP), Applied Industrial Technologies (AIT), Mobileye Global (MBLY), Northrop Grumman (NOC), Comcast (CMCSA), Nokia (NOK), TAL Education Group (TAL), West Bancorporation (WTBA), Murphy Oil (MUR), McCormick & Company, Incorporated (MKC), Valley National Bancorp (VLY)
After the bell: Intel (INTC), Visa Inc (V), Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. (AJG), KLA Corporation (KLAC), Western Alliance Bancorporation (WAL), Capital One Financial (COF), T-Mobile US (TMUS), Levi Strauss & Co. (LEVI), L3Harris Technologies (LHX), AppFolio (APPF), Western Digital (WDC), FICO (FICO), CVRx (CVRX), O
Friday, January 26
8:30 a.m. ET: Personal Spending & Income
10:00 a.m. ET: Pending Home Sales
Before the bell: American Express Co. (AXP), Booz Allen Hamilton Holding Corporation (BAH), Autoliv (ALV), Colgate-Palmolive Co. (CL), Norfolk Southern Corporation (NSC), First Citizens BancShares (FCNCA), BankUnited (BKU), Badger Meter (BMI), Dime Community Bancshares (DCOM), First Hawaiian, Inc (FHB), Gentex (GNTX)
