With Wall Street closed Monday for Martin Luther King Jr. Day, stocks had fewer sessions to turn around their sour start to 2024. However, equities were pressured early amid a rising Treasury yield market and comments from Federal Reserve Governor Christopher Waller that implied the central bank is in no hurry to ease its monetary policy. The 10-year note hit a five-week high, which pressured the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) to its third-straight loss.
The latter half of the week saw the blue-chip index, as well as the Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC) and S&P 500 (SPX), move higher thanks to rallying tech stocks and upbeat economic data. At the midday point on Friday, the SPX was pacing for a record high close and, alongside the IXIC, a solid weekly win, while the DJI was on track for a fractional loss on the week.
Stock Picks to Watch
More of Schaeffer’s 2024 top stock picks are out now and ready for investors to pore over. This week’s batch includes U.S.-listed shares of chip concern Taiwan Semiconductor (TSM), Cincinnati-based Cintas (CTAS), and pet supply e-tailer Chewy (CHWY). For shorter-term plays, Bitcoin’s (BTC) buddy Marathon Digital (MARA) and streaming giant Spotify Technologies (SPOT) both sport solid technical setups, per data from Schaeffer’s Senior Quantitative Analyst Rocky White. In case you need a little more convincing, see how subscribers to Schaeffer’s Options Advisor more than doubled their money with our ZTO Express (ZTO) recommendation.
Corporate Reports and Other Noteworthy News
While the official start of earnings season is just ahead, some major financial names got a jump on things this week. Charles Schwab (SCHW) saw its fourth-quarter profit nearly halve as its clients faced bigger interest rate payments. Elsewhere, Morgan Stanley (MS) and PNC Financial Services (PNC) saw an uptick in options activity following their respective fourth-quarter reports. The healthcare sector also got a shakeup after Humana (HUM) slashed its profit outlook amid higher-than-expected medical costs.
Outside of earnings, Microsoft (MSFT) officially overtook Apple (AAPL) as the world’s most valuable publicly traded company; China’s disappointing gross domestic product (GDP) data took its toll on U.S.-listed shares of JD.com (JD) and Alibaba (BABA); and furniture retailer Wayfair (W) announced plans to cut 13% of its workforce.
Market Outlook and Upcoming Data Releases
Following the second holiday-shortened week of the young year, the latter part of January is set to be loaded with earnings and highly anticipated economic data. Several blue chips are set to start earnings season, while preliminary fourth-quarter gross domestic product (GDP) data and several rounds of personal consumer expenditure (PCE) readings are due out. Plus, insights on how options traders can identify top stock performers, and two encouraging signs flashing for bullish investors.
