The Strength of the Market is: Strong

Last week, the Dow Jones dropped 1.8%, while the S&P 500 slid about 0.6% and the Nasdaq rose 0.3%. The Dow Jones fell for a 7th straight day, its longest streak of losses since 2020, and the S&P 500 ended a three-week winning streak. Heading into year-end, stocks remain in an uptrend and many Wall Street analysts are expecting a strong finish to 2024. This week, on Wednesday afternoon, investors will be closely watching the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates, likely a decrease of 0.25%. 

Economic reports from last week came back mixed:

•Small Business Optimism - higher than expectation

•Labor Productivity - in-line with expectation

•Inflation (Consumer) - in-line with expectation

•Inflation (Producer) - higher than expectation

•Jobless Claims - higher than expectation

This week, investors will look for guidance from economic reports like Manufacturing, Retail Sales, Housing, Gross Domestic Product, Personal Income, Consumer Sentiment and Jobless Claims.