US Markets Update – 24’Rally seems unstoppable

US Markets Update – 2024 Week9 Update/Recap

US Markets Update – During the 9th week of 2024, major indices continued rally and trading seen around fresh record highs. Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 both the indices closed at fresh life time high after gaining 1.739% and 0.949% during this week.

NVIDIA remained the top star again this week as investors are optimistic with AI Chip-maker NVIDIA which is also trading at an all time high after rising by 4.392% this week.

Markets are marching towards north-side continuously on the hopes of technology related boost as well as eyes and hope is set on next rate cut event. However, US treasury yields rates continue to be on higher side keeping bulls cautious while markets trade at around lifetime highs. This week, investors made good buying in small cap stocks too, Russell Index for small-cap i.e. RUT (Russell 2000) closed 2.96% higher on weekly basis, while on yearly basis, the index is trading 49 points higher (2076.39 points) from the 2023 closing levels (2027 Points).

Other important Russell Indices such as RUA (Russell 3000) Global index and RUI (Russell 1000) for large-cap gained by 1.086% and 0.986% on weekly basis maintaining the strength intact.

US Markets Update – Summary of the 2024 Week 9:

US Markets Update – Among Global indexes, at broader level all the indices showed great rally and are now trading at lifetime high levels.

NASDAQ Composite Index rose by 1.739% i.e. (278 points) for this week and closes at new life-time high .

S&P 500 rose by 0.949% (48 Points) and made another closing high record this week. DJIA (US30) lost 0.113% i.e. 44 points but closed near all-time high level i.e. 39131.53.

RUSSELL3000 (RUA) Global index rose by 1.086% (31.64 Points) ,

RUSSELL1000 (RUI) Large Cap index rose by 0.986% (27.5 Points) and

RUSSELL2000 (RUT) Small Cap index rose by 2.96% (59.7 Points) during the past week.

US Markets Update – Key heavy-weight stocks that ROSE on weekly basis:

• NVDA (NVIDIA CORP) rose by 34.62 USD (4.392%) to close at 822.79 $ per share
• META (META PLATFORMS) rose by 18.27 USD (3.775%) to close at 502.03 $ per share
• MSFT (MICROSOFT CORP.) rose by 5.16 USD (1.257%) to close at 415.5 $ per share
• AXP (AMEX) rose by 5.10 USD (2.377%) to close at 219.66 $ per share
• TESL (TESLA INC.) rose by 10.67 USD (5.558%) to close at 202.64 $ per share

US Markets Update : Among the key heavy-weight stocks that FALL on weekly basis are:

• GOOGL (Google) lost 7.21 USD (4.962%) to close at 138.08 $ per share
• BKNG (BOOKING HOLDINGS INC.) lost 6.23 USD (0.178%) to close at 3499.73 $ per share
• MRK (MERCK&CO) lost 2.49 USD (1.924%) to close at 126.96 $ per share
• AAPL (Apple Inc.) lost 2.86 USD (1.567%) to close at 179.66 $ per share

US Markets Update : Among the small-cap stocks that remained active on weekly basis are:

Small Cap stocks gained past week:

• COCH (ENVOY MEDICAL INC.) gained 396% to close at 6.25$ per share
• ROOT (ROOT INC.) gained 130.6% to close at 39.11$ per share
• JMIA (JUMIA TECH AG) gained 60.7% to close at 6.91$ per share
• XPOF (XPONENTIAL FITNESS INC.) gained 43.95% to close at 14.05$ per share
• SG (SWEETGREEN INC.) gained 42.88% to close at 16.36$ per share
• HOLO(MICROCLOUD Hologram) gained 36.46% to close at 9.02$ per share
• NNOX(NANOXIMAGING) gained 29% to close at 11.12$ per share
• MINM (MINIM INC.) gained 27.7% to close at 5.81$ per share
• TRUP(TRUPANION) gained 18.609% to close at 27.28$ per share
• TDS(TELEPHONE AND DATA SYSTEMS) gained 9.836% to close at 15.41$ per share
• COHR (COHERENT) gained 7.832% to close at 63.47 $ per share

Small Cap stocks declined past week:

• LUNR (INTUITIVE MACHINES INC.) declined by 39% to close at 5.85$ per share
• COGT (COGENT BIO, Inc.) declined by 2.823% to close at 7.23$ per share
• TTMI (TTM TECHNOLOGIES) declined by 2.268% to close at 15.08$ per share

COCH(Envoy Medical Inc.) shares jumped by 396% to close at 6.25$ per share. Envoy Medical, Inc., a hearing health company, provides medical technologies for the hearing loss spectrum. Its products include hearing aids; Esteem middle ear implants; bone conduction devices, such as auditory osseointegrated implants; and Acclaim cochlear implants. company that has an FDA approved (PMA approval in 2010) fully implanted active middle ear hearing device. Envoy Medical believes that with newly bipartisan Congressional bill, titled the Hearing Device Coverage Clarification Act, fully Implanted Active Middle Ear Hearing Device May Now Have an Opportunity to be a Coverable Benefit and that would not only provide access to an important technology, but it also would encourage more innovation and competition.

ROOT shares are continuing the rally after posting strong numbers with revenues better than expected 20% ahead of forecasts, announced in the Week 8 of 2024. The shares received revenue estimates upgrades (to the extent of 96%) by many analysts and hence stock is in robust rally since past 2 weeks.

LUNR(Intuitive Machines Inc.) shares are losing the steam after its “Odysseus” spacecraft tipped over when it landed on moon’s surface. Before losing power, Odysseus sent back what Intuitive Machines called “a fitting farewell transmission”. “Good night, Odie. We hope to hear from you again,” the company posted on X. The stock is showing wild moves due to its sensibility to the moon mission. On 29th Feb, Intuitive Machines CEO Steve Altemus said, “Spaceflight’s unique challenges are conquered on Earth but mastered in space. Our now proven robust lunar program, a national asset, feeds directly into our second and third missions. This success drives our relentless pursuit of performance excellence to benefit the entire industry.”

HOLO(MicroCloud Hologram) – China based holographic technology services company shares after touching to 87.66$ per share on 16th Feb 2024 are falling continuously due to the issues highlighted in Hindenburg Report.

US Markets – 2024 YTD change on the key Indices

On YTD basis, NASDAQ Composite and S&P 500 index rose sharply from 2023 closing levels to close at new records of life-time highs.

• Nasdaq Composite 1263.59 Pts i.e. 8.418% UP at 16274.94 (2023 Closing level 15011.35) at its historic high.
• S&P500 (SPX) 367 Pts i.e. 7.7% UP at 5137.09 (2023 Closing level 4769.83) at its historic high.
• Russell1000 (RUI) 194.72 Pts i.e. 7.426% UP at 2,816.86 (2023 Closing level at 2622.14) rep. Large Cap stocks.
• Russell3000 (RUA) 196.65 Pts i.e. 7.156% UP at 2944.86 (2023 Closing level at 2748.21) representing Global US stocks.
• Dow Jones 1398 Pts i.e. 3.709% UP at 39087.38 (2023 Closing level 37689.54) near at its historic high.
• Russell2000 (RUT) 49 Pts i.e. 2.443% UP at 2076.39 (2023 Closing level 2027.07) rep. Small Cap Stocks. This Index came back in positive territory for 2024.

US Markets update – US Bond Yields since 2024 beginning

All the 3 major bond yields – 10 Years, 20 Years and 30 Years closed above 4.15% continue to remain a persistent worry for bulls.

Yield Curve Trend in 2024 (Courtesy: ustreasuryyieldcurve.com)

What’s the buzz this week from key economic indicators?

US Markets Update: On economic indicators front, the news/updates created mixed sentiments among investors (bulls and bears):

Moderately weak GDP numbers QoQ were published last week by Bureau of Economic Analysis i.e. 3.2% (Actual) Vs 3.3% (Forecast) stamping on moderate economic growth. Output remains on track to slow in the first three months of 2024, but not enough to revive the warnings from some analysts that a new downturn is near as a highly unlikely. There is said to be no sign in US economy that raises warning flags on the economic activities expansion or of any recession fears.

S&P PMI Markit released better than estimates numbers on 01st Mar 2024 against U.S. Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) for Feb24 i.e. 52.2 (Actual) Vs. 51.5 (Forecast). This index measures the activity level of purchasing managers in the manufacturing sector. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector; below 50 indicates contraction.

U.S. ISM Manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index (PMI) published by The Institute of Supply Management (ISM) on 01st Mar 2024 came in surprisingly worrisome i.e. 47.8 (Actual) vs 49.5 (Forecast). A PMI reading above 50 percent indicates that the manufacturing economy is generally expanding; below 50 percent indicates that it is generally declining.

Key economic indicators to watch in next week

In the next week 10 (4-8 Mar, 2024), traders will be watching out key data to be released by Bureau of Labor Statistics-

JOLT’s job openings,

Average Hourly Earnings,

Non-Farm Payrolls and

Unemployment Rate for February.

Credit: Investing.com: Economic-Calendar