Weekly Market Brief: January 22, 2024

Last Week in Review

It took more than 2 years and over 500 days of trading, but the S&P 500 index finally surpassed the all-time highs it set back in January 2022. It caps off the sixth longest stretch without a new high since the inception of the index back in 1950, and the longest since 2013, when stocks finally erased the 2007-2009 collapse.

The breakout by the S&P 500 comes a little more than a month after the Dow Jones Industrial Average accomplished the same feat. But the NASDAQ Composite, which suffered through a more significant decline during the bear market of 2022, still has a bit of work to do before its damage is completely undone.

Relatively Speaking

It may be a new year, but sector leadership to start off 2024 looks awfully familiar. So far in January, the Information Technology sector has gained 5%, and Communication Services stocks are up 4.2%. Those two sectors more than doubled the return of the S&P 500 in 2023, and they’re on pace to repeat that feat. The Materials and Energy sectors - both commodity oriented groups - are off 4% to start the year, and so are last year’s worst performers, the Utilities.

What's Ahead

Here are the key data releases and events to keep on eye on in the coming days.