AE Wealth Management: Weekly Market Insights | 12/24/23 – 12/30/23

January 2, 2024
1.2.24-new-year

Weekly Market Commentary

THE WEEK IN REVIEW: Dec. 24-30, 2023

Ring out the old and usher in the new

Last week was a short one for trading, bookended by the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Markets closed up again last week, with the S&P 500 marking its ninth straight weekly gain — the longest stretch in 20 years. The Nasdaq cemented yearly growth of more than 43%, its sixth-biggest annual gain.

With many folks out enjoying an extended holiday week, it was a good thing data was scant last week. However, the data that did come out had a negative overall tone. Reports showed that Mid-Atlantic manufacturing fell sharply in November, while overall business activity in the Chicago region moved back into contraction territory. And despite expectations for an increase, pending home sales in November were flat. Finally, weekly jobless claims rose to their highest level (218,000) since the start of December.

Headlines put artificial intelligence (AI) back in the spotlight last week, as The New York Times launched a lawsuit against generative AI companies for copyright infringement. Owners of the Old Gray Lady (as the Times is called) argued against use of the newspaper’s content to train AI language models like ChatGPT.

Overall, it was a rather anti-climactic ending to a year filled with more than its share of ups and downs. Fortunately, we can put 2023 behind us — and start looking ahead to what 2024 may hold.

Coming this week

  • We’ll more than make up for last week’s lack of data in the coming week. First up, on Tuesday, we’ll see construction spending for November, as well as the latest U.S. manufacturing prices.
  • Richmond Federal Reserve President Tom Barkin will speak on Wednesday, plus we’ll get the minutes from the latest Fed meeting. Auto sales, job openings and manufacturing numbers will also be released.
  • On Thursday, we’ll see the December ADP employment number and the newest weekly job claims.
  • Finally, we’ll get the third piece of the employment trifecta on Friday, with the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ non-farm payrolls report. We’ll also see the latest unemployment rate, hourly wages and factory orders.

AE Wealth Management, LLC (“AEWM”) is an SEC Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) located in Topeka, Kansas. Registration does not denote any level of skill or qualification. The advisory firm providing you this report is an independent financial services firm and is not an affiliate company of AE Wealth Management, LLC. AEWM works with a variety of independent advisors. Some of the advisors are Investment Adviser Representatives (IAR) who provide investment advisory services through AEWM. Some of the advisors are Registered Investment Advisers providing investment advisory services that incorporate some of the products available through AEWM.

Information regarding the RIA offering the investment advisory services can be found at https://brokercheck.finra.org/.

Investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal. No investment strategy can guarantee a profit or protect against loss in periods of declining values.

The information and opinions contained herein, provided by third parties, have been obtained from sources believed to be reliable, but accuracy and completeness cannot be guaranteed by AE Wealth Management.

This information is not intended to be used as the sole basis for financial decisions, nor should it be construed as advice designed to meet the particular needs of an individual’s situation. None of the information contained herein shall constitute an offer to sell or solicit any offer to buy a security or insurance product.

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