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Last Week In ReviewA Friday rally following an encouraging jobs report left the major indexes with a gain to start the year. Communication services stocks led the gains, helped by rallies in Charter Communications, Netflix, and Facebook parent Meta Platforms. Trading...

Last Week In ReviewLast week major indexes were mixed in generally quiet holiday season trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P MidCap 400 Index recorded modest gains, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped nearly 2% despite recording its best daily gain...

Fears over rising interest rates pushed the S&P 500 Index lower for a second consecutive week and to levels last seen in early November. Nearly every sector within the index recorded sharp losses, except for energy shares, which were supported by a partial rebound in oil prices.

Last week, stocks gave back much of the previous two weeks’ gains as some surprisingly strong economic data dampened hopes that the Federal Reserve might soon be able to curb its program of raising interest rates to cool inflation. The S&P 500 Index recorded its worst return in five weeks, while the small-cap Russell 2000 Index endured its worst week since late September.

Last week the major U.S. equity indexes ended higher, buoyed by the possibility that the Federal Reserve may slow the pace of its interest rate increases. Growth stocks outperformed their value counterparts in the S&P 500 Index, while the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index posted solid gains. However, the “traditional economy” Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) took a bit of a breather and ended modestly higher.

Last week stocks fell after the Federal Reserve dashed market hopes for an impending pivot in monetary policy in the form of a pause or slower pace of rate hikes. The technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index was hit particularly hard as growth stocks declined more than value companies. The Dow Jones Industrial Average held up much better, extending its relative outperformance from October.

Last Week In ReviewLast week stocks were higher but offered widely divergent returns for the week as investors reacted to a busy calendar of third-quarter earnings reports. Energy and other industrial economy stocks handily outperformed growth shares, with the latter...

Last week equities recorded substantial gains as investors appeared to react to some prominent earnings reports and hints that the Federal Reserve might moderate its pace of interest rate hikes. The S&P 500 Index enjoyed its best weekly gain in nearly four months, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average marked its third consecutive week of gains. Energy shares outperformed within the S&P 500 as oil prices proved resilient despite announcing a U.S. Strategic Petroleum Reserve release. The small real estate sector lagged. Trading remained active and volatile due to the expiration of USD 2 trillion in options contracts on Friday.

Last week, most major indexes were lower as third-quarter earnings reporting season began in earnest, and investors weighed inflation data and their implications for Federal Reserve policy. By the end of the week, the S&P 500 Index had surrendered nearly half of its gains since its March 2020 bottom. Within the index, the typically defensive healthcare and consumer staples sectors outperformed. In contrast, consumer discretionary and communication services shares lagged, dragged lower by heavily weighted Amazon.com, Tesla, and Meta Platforms (parent of Facebook). Likewise, slower-growing value stocks handily outperformed their growth counterparts.