Week Ending January 17th, 2024 
Market Moves 


Weekly Recap

• Key inflation reports leave market mixed. US stocks closed mixed Tuesday after investors absorbed the first of two important key inflation reports this week. The Producer Price Index, which tracks price changes companies see at a wholesale level, rose 3.3% over last year, up from 3% in November but less than economists expected. Now investors are looking towards today's heavily anticipated CPI print. The benchmark S&P 500 finished the trading day about 0.1% higher, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite dropped around 0.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained roughly 0.5%.
• Trump and tariffs leave investors rattled. The incoming Trump administration could hike tariffs more gradually to ease inflationary pressures. President-elect Trump is considering a month-by-month rollout of promised tariff increases rather than imposing higher levels in a single move, Bloomberg reported.
• The dollar fell. The US dollar fell on Tuesday after Bloomberg reported that hike tariffs would potentially be more gradual by Trump's team.
• The CPI report today is expected to be sticky. December's Consumer Price Index (CPI) will serve as the latest indication if the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates in 2025. The report, set for release at 8:30 a.m. ET on Wednesday, is expected to show headline inflation of 2.9%, an uptick from November's 2.7% annual gain in prices. The Feds have already admitted that inflation will last longer than expected. "Inflation appears to have stalled moderately above the Fed's target," Bank of America economists Stephen Juneau and Jeseo Park wrote in a preview of the report.
• Bitcoin traded around $97K. Bitcoin edged higher on Tuesday after falling roughly 4% over the past month. The last time bitcoin prices traded above the critical $100,00 level was Jan. 7.
• Quantum computing stocks soared. Quantum computing stocks including Rigetti Computing, Quantum Computing, and D-Wave, rose significantly after B. Riley analyst Craig Ellis said in a note Tuesday that the sector is poised for a solid future.
• Meta announced a workforce reduction. Shares of Meta dropped about 2% on Tuesday after the company confirmed to multiple outlets it would cut about 5% of its "lowest performers."
• Eli Lilly stumbles to its worst trading say since 2021. Shares of Eli Lilly fell over 7% after the company said fourth quarter sales of its weight-loss drug Zepbound were expected to come in below Wall Street estimates.
• JPMorgan elevated its management team. JPMorgan Chase elevated Jennifer Piepszak to COO as part of a new management reshuffle announced Tuesday. 
• Homebuilder KB Home went higher. Shares of KB Home rose 4% on Tuesday, a day after the homebuilder posted better-than-expected earnings per share and net orders despite elevated mortgage rates.

_____________________________________________________________

"Better-than-expected PPI in December are going to be positive for the markets, which have been concerned with higher inflation readings during the last several months." 

- Eugenio Aleman, chief economist at Raymond James.

_____________________________________________________________

Most Active Stocks

• Rigetti Computing (RGTI)
• H&E Equipment Services (HEES)
• Quantum Computing (QUBT)
• Nvidia (NVDA)
• Tesla (TSLA)
• Eli Lilly (LLY)
• Applied Digital Corp. (APLD)
• Meta (META)
• Signet Jewelers (SIG)
• Ardent Health Partners (ARDT)

Weekly Notables

Capital One Faces Legal Heat for Cheating People Out of Interest

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau announced it was suing Capital One for “cheating” customers out of more than $2 billion in interest. The agency said Capital One used deceptive marketing to obscure differences in interest rates between two of its savings account options. Capital One denied the allegations and said it widely advertised its high-yield savings account.

The SEC is Sueing Elon Musk

The Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) on Tuesday filed a suit against Elon Musk, alleging the Tesla CEO has violated securities law by acquiring Twitter shares at “artificially low prices.” Musk bought Twitter in 2022 for about $44 billion, later changing the name to X. According to the SEC complaint, Musk didn’t follow disclosure rules, “allowing him to underpay by at least $150 million for shares he purchased after his financial beneficial ownership report was due.”

Earnings Spotlight: Goldman Sachs


Shares of investment bank Goldman Sachs were trading higher on Tuesday as investors await its Q4 earnings results today before the market opens. Analysts are expecting earnings per share to come in at $8.21 on revenue of $12.84 billion. This equates to a 49.8% year-over-year increase in earnings. Goldman Sachs has beaten earnings estimates for five consecutive quarters.