John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended January 11th
Baby steps
December’s surge in market volatility has given way to incremental gains entering the new year. Stocks rose modestly in six of the first eight trading days of 2019, and Friday’s small decline snapped a five-day string of positive days in a row.
Solid start
The major stock indexes climbed 2%–3% during the first full week of the new year, marking the third positive weekly result in a row. The Dow ended the week 10% higher than its recent low on December 24, while the S&P 500 was more than 7% higher.
Earnings outlook
Major banks will begin reporting results next week as quarterly earnings season gets under way. Economic and trade uncertainties have recently caused analysts to scale back their profit estimates, and fourth-quarter earnings for companies in the S&P 500 are now expected to rise about 12% compared with the same quarter a year ago, according to FactSet.
Inflation slowdown
The government reported on Friday that the U.S. Consumer Price Index slipped 0.1% in December, marking the first decrease in nine months. Declining gasoline prices were a key reason for the monthly decrease, as they offset increases in rental housing and healthcare costs.
Source: https://wmr.jhinvestments.com