In Markets "In a Nutshell"

Markets “In a Nutshell” for May 20, 2024

Investment Week at a Glance

Stocks finished higher for the week. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 1.20%, the S&P 500 was up 1.50%, and the NASDAQ rose 2.10%. Foreign stocks (MSCI EAFE) were also up, rising 1.50%. Bond prices were up for the week, with the 10-year U.S. Treasury ending the week at 4.42%.  (Data source: Wall Street Journal)

April CPI Report

The April CPI report was released last week and came in at 3.4% year-over-year and 0.3% for the month. This was good news for markets as it once again showed inflation was moving in the right direction. Core-CPI (excludes food & energy) also fell to 3.6%, the lowest reading we have seen in the past 3 years. The previous few months had not shown much progress in the fight against inflation, so this report gives investors hope that we are back on the right track. If we continue to see reports that show inflation moderating, the Fed could look to cut rates soon. Currently, the first rate cut is priced in for September with a 64% chance of seeing one. The next Fed meeting is in June and falls right when we get the next CPI report so the market will pay close attention to those couple of days that will set up the market for the summer months.

Dow Jones 40k

Markets are once again at all-time highs after the brief pullback we saw in April. The Dow Jones crossed 40,000 for the first-time last week and closed above the mark on Friday. Although 40,000 is just a psychological barrier and doesn’t mean anything significant, it does show the progress the market has made since the COVID lows just 4 years ago when the Dow fell near 19,000. Looking further back, in 1980 the Dow had just eclipsed 1,000, an impressive 40x return in just 44 years. The Dow Jones continues to trail other indices this year as the S&P 500 is up 11% as well as the NASDAQ, both of which are a more complete view of the market as the Dow Jones only has 30 companies in the index.

Quiz:

What company had the longest duration of being in the Dow Jones? (Scroll Down for Answer)

  1.     Ford
  2.     General Electric
  3.     The Walt Disney Company
  4.     ExxonMobil

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answer below.

 

 

Have a Great Week!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Answer:

2.    General Electric from 1896 to 2018.  General Electric was in the Dow Jones before being replaced by Walgreens Boots Alliance, the drugstore.