Recap | Week Ahead | Pullbacks — CRA Financial, LLC

“Perfect is the enemy of good.” – Famous Proverb

Last week's market recap:

The S&P 500 closed the week down -.23%. Year-to-date the index is up 7.73%
NASDAQ closed the week down -1.15%. YTD the index is up 7.31%
U.S. Aggregate Bond index was up .81%. YTD the index is down -.50%
10-Year Treasury Rate decreased, ending the week at 4.09% down from 4.19% the prior week
- Fed Funds Target rate remains at 5.25-5.50%
The 1-Year Treasury is yielding 4.97%
A 6 Month Treasury is yielding 5.31%
- Short term rates are trending lower. Reinvestment Risk for short term debt remains elevated.

The week ahead:

CPI (Consumer Price Index) Inflation data
The Fed’s “Blackout Period.” They can’t provide comments until after their March meeting.
Consumer Sentiment Data
Earnings: Dollar Tree, Dollar General, Kohl’s. This will give insight into consumer spending.

Inflation Expectations:

February’s CPI data will be released Tuesday, 3/12/24 at 8:30am EST.

“Economists expect the overall CPI reading in February to show 0.4% growth on a monthly basis, up from 0.3% growth in January, with the annual growth rate holding steady at 3.1%.” - FactSet’s consensus estimates

Pullbacks:

Equity markets are up over 20% in almost a straight line since late October 2023. During this time, The S&P 500 has been higher without a sell-off of 2.5% or more. The average intra-year pullback is 14.2%. Equity markets feel slightly stretched and could be due for a sell-off. This would be normal.

For most investors, a pullback should be viewed as an opportunity to add and diversify methodically.

Source: JP Morgan Guide to the Markets

As always, let us know if you have any questions.

Best,

CRA Investment Committee

Matt Reynolds CPA, CFP®

Tom Reynolds, CPA

Robert T. Martin, CFA, CFP®

Gordon Shearer Jr., CFP®

Jeff Hilliard, CFP®, CRPC®

Joe McCaffrey, CFP®

Phillip Tompkins, CFP®

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