Thursday,
January 18, 2024
Market recap
Dow Jones
37,266.67
-94.45 (-0.25%)
S&P 500
4,739.21
-26.77 (-0.56%)
Nasdaq
14,855.62
-88.72 (-0.59%)
Top Story
Americans keep spending. Can this change the Fed’s rate cut plans?
Retail spending outperformed forecasts in December, suggesting that a key driver of the economy remained strong going into 2024. That’s all well and good, but how will it affect the Fed’s plans for the year?
US stocks fell on Wednesday as strong retail sales data helped push the 10-year US Treasury yield above 4.1%
• Retail sales unexpectedly rose 0.6% in December, underscoring the resilience of consumer spending through the holiday shopping season.
• In financial sector earnings, shares of Charles Schwab declined 1.3% after the bank expressed uncertainty about its near-term performance, and U.S. Bancorp stock fell 1.4% after reporting a more than 10% decline in profits year-over-year.
• Spirit Airlines stock continued its sharp drop after its proposed merger with JetBlue was blocked by a U.S. judge, sending its shares 22.5% lower Wednesday, following a 47% decline the day before. JetBlue shares fell 8.7% Wednesday.
• Boeing shares rose 1.3% after the Federal Aviation Administration announced it completed inspections on 40 of the aircraft manufacturer’s 171 grounded 737 MAX 9 planes.
• Shares of Tesla declined 2% after announcing price cuts for its Model Y vehicles across Europe, following similar cuts in China. Also in the automotive world, shares of Ford, Fisker, and Rivian all fell following analyst downgrades.
• The average 30-year mortgage rate fell to 6.75%, driving an 11% increase in refinance applications, week-over-week.
What to be on the lookout for today
• December building permits and housing starts will be released.
• We’ll also get the weekly update to unemployment claims.
Pick your team: Preparing for uncertainty in the markets
We don’t have a crystal ball, but looking at what may lie ahead in 2024, there are various unknowns: For one, the Federal Reserve is expected to change course from monetary tightening to monetary easing. Plus, whether the central bank will stick a soft landing remains to be seen. Then there are mounting geopolitical tensions that are already weighing on supply chains and commodities.
So what’s a good strategy to approach a year like this? Sports offers a solid analogy, says SoFi Head of Investment Strategy Liz Young. In assembling your portfolio, you will want to think of both offense and defense for the year ahead. Just like in playoff football, you’ll need both to succeed.
Today’s top stories
Do you suffer from a case of the “corporate accent”? A new TikTok trend is roasting corporate America for using too many words to say very little. Read more >> Could you be eligible for a Pell Grant to pay for college? There are many ways to get help paying for your education. Pell Grants are one of them. Here’s what you need to know about the eligibility criteria. Read more >>Other news that caught our eye
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Ray Dalio, manager of the world's biggest hedge fund, believes both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump could pose a challenge to the market.
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More than 250 billionaires and millionaires called for higher taxes on their “extreme wealth” in an open letter to elected officials at the World Economic Forum.
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Apple surpassed Samsung as the world’s top smartphone seller, with a 20% market share in 2023.
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Electric vehicle owners are reporting slower charging and lower range for their EVs in areas of the U.S. affected by extremely cold weather.
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The White House proposed a new rule to lower overdraft fees to as little as $3, potentially eliminating billions in annual revenue for some banks.
Financial planner tip of the day
“What your goals are will largely determine whether or not long-term investing is the right choice for you. So you might want to spend time outlining what you want to achieve — which may depend on your life stage — and how much money you’ll need to achieve it.”
Brian Walsh, CFP® at SoFi