Weekly Market Bullets

for the week ending 1/20/2023

• US Equity Markets were mixed last week, as growth and rate hike concerns resurfaced despite additional improving inflation data. The S&P 500 fell 0.7% for the week to reduce its gains for the year to 3.5%. The Nasdaq was up 0.6% for the week and is now up 6.4% for the year, while the Russell 2000 (small cap stocks) dropped 1.0% for the week to bring its gains for the year to 6.0%.

• Global Equity Markets managed gains despite weaker economic data out of Europe, helped by positive moves out of Asia. Developed Markets eked out a 0.1% increase for the week as gains in Asia more than offset losses in Europe. Emerging Markets increased 0.6% for the week on continued strength out of China. For the year, Emerging Markets are now up 7.5%. 

• Better US inflation data were offset by weak Retail Sales for December. The Producer Price Index (PPI) rose 6.2% in December from a year ago, down from 7.3% in November. Core PPI, which excludes food and energy prices, rose 5.5% in December from a year ago, down from 6.2% in November. Retail Sales for December fell 1.1% from November, similar to November's 1.0% decline. This was much worse than expected and raised further concerns about the US consumer.

• The best performing stocks so far in 2023 were the worst performing stocks in 2022 and vice versa. Specifically, the lowest quartile stocks based on returns in 2022 are up an average of 16% this year, while the best performing quartile of stocks in 2022 are only up an average of about 1%. That makes us skeptical of the recent market rebound.

Market Data

for the week ending 1/20/2023