Wall Street stumbled significantly on Friday, but still posted strong weekly gains. The strong four-game winning streak that pushed the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 to all-time highs on Thursday was helped by a positive update from the Federal Reserve this week. The Nasdaq rose slightly on Friday, but ended this week with consecutive gains, setting a new record. Looking back on this week, already rising markets breathed a sigh of relief on Wednesday, boosted further by the Fed’s indication that three interest rate cuts by the end of the year are still appropriate. That answered a big question heading into the central bank’s two-day March meeting after two months of rising inflation. Federal Reserve policymakers left interest rates unchanged, as expected. Housing starts for February exceeded expectations on Tuesday. We expect that strength to continue in the coming months as increased supply helps keep housing inflation in check. Shelter costs are a large and unavoidable item for U.S. consumers and have a significant impact on the overall direction of key inflation measures. Looking ahead, we’ll get important macroeconomic updates and hear from several companies that can provide further insight into the real U.S. economy, especially the state of small and medium-sized businesses. Friday’s economic data is an important day. This is when the government releases personal income and spending data for February. This report includes the Federal Reserve’s favorite inflation measure, the personal consumption expenditures (PCE) price index. According to FactSet, the consensus forecast is for overall PCE to rise 2.5% year over year, and core PCE, which excludes food and energy prices, to rise 2.8%. On Thursday, the government will release final statistics on gross domestic product (GDP) for the fourth quarter of 2023. While looking back, it provides insight into how the economy held up until the end of last year. It also tells us whether the federal funds rate is at an appropriate level and whether it is right for central banks to keep rates high for long periods of time. Following the release of Monday’s February new home sales report and Tuesday’s S&P/Case-Shiller home price data, the latest statistics on pending home sales will also be released Thursday. Durable goods orders for February will also be announced on Tuesday. QUARTERLY RESULTS No clubs will report their results next week, but some quarterly reports will be released on Wednesday. Cruise company Carnival’s numbers will shed light on discretionary consumer spending through the lens of travel. Business services provider Cintas’ quarterly financial results provide insight into the health of small and medium-sized businesses. “If Cintas blows the doors off, there can’t be a recession,” Jim Cramer said after the company’s last quarterly report. Revenue from Paychex, one of the country’s largest payroll processing companies, provides insight into the state of the labor market. Because the United States is a consumption-driven economy, lower unemployment means more purchasing power, which is key for the Fed to fight inflation and hopefully avoid a recession. Monday, March 25, 10 a.m. ET: New Home Sales Tuesday, March 26, 8 a.m. ET: Durable Goods Orders 10 a.m. ET: S&P/Case-Shiller Home Prices Before the Bell: McCormick & Company (MKC) After the bell: GameStop (GME) Wednesday, March 27 Before the bell: Carnival (CCL), Cintas, Paychecks (PAYX) After the bell: Jefferies Financial (JEF), HB Fuller (FUL) Thursday, March 28th 8:30 a.m. ET: Unemployment Claims 8:30 a.m. ET: Gross Domestic Product 10 a.m. ET: Home Sales Pending Before the Bell: Walgreens Boots Alliance ( WBA) Friday, March 29th 8:30am ET: PCE Price Index (See here for a complete list of Jim stocks) Cramer’s Charitable Trust. ) As a subscriber to Jim Cramer’s CNBC Investment Club, you will receive trade alerts before Jim makes a trade. After Jim sends a trade alert, he waits 45 minutes before buying or selling stocks in a charitable trust’s portfolio. If Jim talks about a stock on his CNBC TV, he will wait 72 hours before executing the trade after issuing a trade alert. The above investment club information is subject to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, as well as our disclaimer. No fiduciary duties or obligations exist or arise from your receipt of information provided in connection with the Investment Club. No specific results or benefits are guaranteed.
Visitors surround the Charging Bull statue near the New York Stock Exchange on June 29, 2023.
Victor J. Blue | Bloomberg | Getty Images
Wall Street stumbled significantly on Friday, but still posted strong weekly gains. With a strong 4 session winning streak, dow industrials stock And that S&P500 Thursday’s all-time high was boosted by favorable announcements from the U.S. Federal Reserve this week.of Nasdaqwas slightly higher on Friday, but this week it closed at a daily high, setting a new record.
