The Fed held its September meeting and the message from Jay Powell was clear: they will continue to keep rates elevated until inflation moves more convincingly toward 2.0%. The Fed held rates steady at 5.25% - 5.5% at this meeting but kept the option of an additional rate hike on the table, maintaining its outlook for a peak fed funds rate of 5.6%. The S&P 500 and the technology-heavy Nasdaq Composite reacted negatively, dropping 2.9% and 3.6% respectively. That marked the third straight negative week and worst weekly performance since March for each. As Vanda Research notes, inflows into the artificial intelligence (AI) sector continue to decline.

US stocks had a mixed week, with value stocks leading the market as U.S. WTI oil prices rose above $90 per barrel for the 1st time since November 2022. Tech and growth stocks lagged after Apple’s new product introduction event on Tuesday that featured a price increase on its top-of-the-line iPhone 15. However, broad market sentiment received a boost from the largest IPO of 2023 as shares of Arm started trading on the Nasdaq on Thursday. Wednesday’s release of the August CPI data showed that the Fed has made progress in its fight against inflation, but rising energy prices may prompt the central bank to further tighten monetary policy. The headline CPI numbers showed the largest monthly increase since August 2022, due to the effect of higher gasoline prices.

Stocks closed lower over the holiday-shortened week as positive economic data drove an increase in bond yields. Growth stocks and large-caps outperformed value and small-caps. Apple was one of the main negative performance contributors after news that Chinese government employees would no longer be able to use iPhones. Declines in NVIDIA and other chipmakers also weighed on the indexes. Macroeconomic data surprised on the upside. E.g the ISM report on August services sector activity jumped unexpectedly to its highest level since February. Meanwhile, Thursday’s weekly jobless claims report came in lower than expected; the number of Americans applying for unemployment in the previous week fell to 216,000, the lowest level in six months.

Signs that the US jobs market is cooling down helped the major US equity indices to register solid gains for the week, although stocks closed out their first negative month since February. A decrease in bond yields over much of the week provided a boost to growth shares. Smaller-cap stocks outperformed. Indeed, bad news for the economy was considered good news for stock prices, given the interest rate implications. On Tuesday, the S&P 500 Index recorded its best one-day gain since June, following news that job openings unexpectedly fell by 338,000 in July and hit their lowest level since March 2001

The main US equity indices were mixed with the #Nasdaq outperforming (along with the S&P 500) while The Dow ended lower on the week. Growth #stocks handily outperformed value shares, helped by another substantial #earnings and revenue beat by artificial intelligence chipmaker #NVIDIA. Financials pulled back early in the week after S&P Global downgraded its credit ratings of five regional banks. Several retailers reported 2Q results, which arguably offered a generally cautious picture on the health of the U.S. consumer. On the macro side, disappointing data dominated the week with the Citi macro surprise index tumbling most since April.

US stocks retreated for a third consecutive week as sentiment appeared to take a blow from a sharp increase in longer-term bond yields and fears of a sharp slowdown in China. The S&P 500 index ended the week down 5.2% from its July 26 intraday peak. Small-cap stocks performed the worst. On the macro side, July US retail sales jumped 0.7% over the month, roughly double consensus estimates. Sales in specific categories indicated a sharp rise in discretionary spending (e,g +11.9% yoy for restaurants and bars).

US equity indices ended mixed for the week, as investors weighed inflation data against worries over the recent rise in long-term interest rates. Volumes were generally light. Value stocks handily outperformed growth stocks; the Dow managed a modest gain while the Nasdaq was down (-2%) for the 2nd straight week (1st time since December.). Healthcare outperformed while technology stocks underperformed on worries that rising rates would reduce the value of future profits.

U.S. equities started August with a down week after closing out a strong July. Rising Treasury yields and an unexpected downgrade to the U.S. government’s credit rating weighed on sentiment. The Nasdaq suffered the largest losses for the week. On the corporate earnings side, Amazon significantly beat estimates and the stock rallied more than 8% on Friday. Apple was down about 5% after a mixed report as iPhone sales disappointed. Fitch Ratings on Tuesday downgraded the credit rating of U.S. government debt from AAA, to AA+, with the ratings agency saying its decision “reflects governance and medium-term fiscal challenges.”

Main US equities indices ended higher over a week notable for the Dow Jones Industrial Average notching its 13th consecutive daily gain on Wednesday, which marked its longest winning streak since 1987. Trading activity was relatively subdued due to the summer vacation season. It was nevertheless a busy week in terms of news flow. The Fed announced a 0.25% increase in the federal funds target rate, as expected. The tone of the Fed’s statement was received as relatively benign, however, and expectations grew that the Fed was done raising rates, at least for the year.

The Dow Jones is up 10 days in a row U.S. equity indexes advanced on hopes that the tight labor market and moderating inflation would help the economy avoid a hard landing. The Dow Jones is up 10 days in a row, which is the longest winning streak since February 2017. The Nasdaq, however, suffered a modest pullback on the week on the back of Tesla and Netflix earnings. Value stocks outperformed their growth counterparts.