February 6, 2024

Federal Reserve (“Fed”) Chair Jay Powell recently spoke of “balancing” risks while, at the same time, taking the anticipated March interest rate cut off the table.  Despite this disappointment and the volatility surrounding rate expectations, the S&P 500 Index still managed a gain of 1.7% for the month of January.  Despite no clear signal on timing, the Fed remains likely to cut some time in the coming months. Large growth was the clear winner, while mid-cap and small-cap stocks declined after a strong December performance.  The broadening in the market we saw in December narrowed again, as concerns remain about market leadership and stretched sentiment. Communication Services (+5.0%), Financials (+3.1%), and Health Care (+3.0%) were the best performing S&P sectors in January while Real Estate (-4.7%) and Consumer Discretionary (-3.5%) were the laggards.