Welcome to MarketBites! Here's all you need to know about yesterday's market news.

“Awards become corroded, friends gather no dust." 

- Jesse Owens

MARKET PERFORMANCE

PORTFOLIO MANAGER COMMENTARY

Stocks rallied on Friday to finish the week strong after briefly losing the momentum of the January rally. The Nasdaq outperformed the major indexes this past week, posting a 0.55% gain and its third positive week in a row. The Dow finished the week lower by 2.70%, and the S&P posted a 0.66% loss, both breaking two-week win streaks. All of the major averages are still in positive territory for the year.

Investors continued to monitor earnings reports and mega-cap tech shares led the market higher. Netflix gained 8.46% after posting more subscribers than expected even though its quarterly earnings missed analysts’ estimates. Alphabet rose 5.34% after the company announced it will lay off 12,000 employees.

CHART OF THE DAY

The 40-year inflation high, seen in June of 2022, turned into relatively normal price growth last seen before the pandemic during the 2^nd half of 2022. Both transportation and food-price increases remain above overall inflation trends. Inflation for transportation costs, however, fell steeply in the latter half of 2022 as gasoline prices came down and vehicle prices leveled off. Meanwhile, growth in costs to rent or own a home has accelerated. Dining out and eating at home have outpaced overall cost growth since the start of the pandemic, with grocery items hitting consumers’ wallets harder.

WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING

• GM, LG scrap plans to partner on fourth factory - read here
• SPAC deals shrink after speculation wanes - read here