I See Big Tailwinds for Stocks in 2024

We're once again on the verge of a new all-time high... and beyond. The S&P 500 Index made a new 52-week high in late December. [Chaikin PowerFeed]( Editor's note: The markets and our Chaikin Analytics offices will be closed Monday, January 15, for Martin Luther King Jr. Day. As a result, we won't publish our Chaikin PowerFeed e-letter that day. Look for your next issue on Tuesday, January 16. I See Big Tailwinds for Stocks in 2024 By Marc Chaikin, founder, Chaikin Analytics We're once again on the verge of a new all-time high... and beyond. The S&P 500 Index made a new 52-week high in late December. It closed yesterday at roughly 4,780. It's now sitting about 0.4% away from its all-time high at around 4,800. So in short, the bull market is alive and well. Even better, as I'll explain today, it has significant tailwinds heading into 2024... Two major shifts are likely to happen this year. Thanks to lower interest rates and a resilient domestic economy, we'll likely see a resurgence in small-cap stocks. And I also expect the strength of the S&P 500 to broaden out into the other 493 stocks beyond the so-called "Magnificent Seven" tech mega caps. That doesn't mean tech stocks will suffer, though. I still expect big things from this space as demand for artificial-intelligence chips and software keeps growing... Recommended Links: [The Biggest Hit to Your Wealth in More Than a Decade?]( Ten of the world's biggest money managers depend on Joel Litman's market analysis. Now, he's just stepped forward with an urgent update to his latest (frightening) market warning... including a tool he's been waiting 20 years to share with the public. If you're holding stocks, you need to see this. [Click here for full details](. [Elon Musk's "Project Dojo" is a Game-Changer]( Morgan Stanley predicts that Musk's latest act will boost Tesla's shares by 80% in the next 12 months. But if you want to profit from this development, you'll buy the firm that could see its sales explode by 829% as "Project Dojo" sweeps the nation. [Click here for its name and ticker symbol (MUST ACT BEFORE MARCH 15)](. Based on the Technology Select Sector SPDR Fund (XLK), tech stocks surged more than 50% in 2023. It was a massive climb. Since 1990, this sector has surged more than 40% in a single year seven times. According to data from Bespoke Investment Group, tech stocks continued to rally the following year in six of those seven instances. And they produced an average gain of nearly 22%. That points to even more possible upside ahead for tech stocks. Another potential driver for stocks in general is that 2024 is a presidential-election year... Going back to the late 1800s, that's "bullish" for the stock market. The stock market has only lost 5% or more in six out of 32 presidential-election years since 1896. And in five of those elections, the party in power lost. Since 1950, the S&P 500 has rallied in 14 of 18 presidential-election years. The strength was concentrated in the back half of the year, too. The index was up from the end of June through year-end in 16 of those 18 years – with an average gain of 10% over that six-month period. Why is the market so strong in presidential-election years? Well, it comes back to the power of the president to pump up the economy and make voters feel good in November. And 2024 shouldn't disappoint on that front... Interest rates and inflation are still down significantly from their highs. Meanwhile, wages are still on the rise. And consumer sentiment is already on the upswing. The Federal Reserve will likely cut the benchmark federal-funds rate three or four times in 2024. And a less visible but equally as important factor is the end of the Fed's quantitative-tightening ("QT") efforts – those policies designed to reduce its balance sheet. The December meeting minutes showed that the Fed talked about it for the first time. Meanwhile, according to the December Consumer Price Index ("CPI"), prices ticked up 3.4% over the prior year. That's a slight increase from the 3.1% increase in November. On the other hand, core inflation – which removes the volatile food and energy categories – fell slightly to an annual rate of 3.9% from 4.0% the month prior. Earnings are on the upswing as well. The Atlanta Fed estimates that fourth-quarter gross domestic product will be up 2.2%. And it expects further gains in the first half of 2024. That's all great news for investors, of course. Falling inflation overall, declining interest rates, and rising earnings mix together to produce a positive outlook for stocks. So for now, my point is simple... I'm as "bullish" as ever on stocks in 2024. Good investing, Marc Chaikin Market View Major Indexes and Notable Sectors # Hld: Bullish Neutral Bearish Dow 30 +0.060% 13 15 2 S&P 500 -0.040% 149 286 63 Nasdaq +0.210% 41 46 12 Small Caps -0.750% 708 898 311 Bonds +0.560% — According to the Chaikin Power Bar, Small Cap stocks and Large Cap stocks remain Bullish. Major indexes are mixed. * * * * Sector Tracker Sector movement over the last 5 days Information Technology +4.05% Communication +2.38% Discretionary +2.16% Health Care +1.17% Industrials +0.74% Staples +0.55% Financial +0.21% Real Estate -0.33% Materials -0.99% Utilities -2.07% Energy -3.37% * * * * Industry Focus Health Care Equipment Services 3 53 12 Over the past 6 months, the Health Care Equipment subsector (XHE) has underperformed the S&P 500 by -20.18%. Its Power Bar ratio, which measures future potential, is Very Weak, with more Bearish than Bullish stocks. It is currently ranked #19 of 21 subsectors and has moved up 2 slots over the past week. Indicative Stocks [rating] TMCI Treace Medical Conce [rating] NVCR NovoCure Limited [rating] NVST Envista Holdings Cor * * * * Top Movers Gainers [rating] NFLX +2.91% [rating] CRM +2.74% [rating] VLO +2.59% [rating] PANW +2.34% [rating] MAA +2.16% Losers [rating] PARA -5.45% [rating] AES -4.50% [rating] WEC -4.05% [rating] WBD -3.92% [rating] EXR -3.89% * * * * Earnings Report Reporting Today Rating Before Open After Close BAC, BK, BLK, C, JPM, UNH DAL No earnings reporting today. Earnings Surprises No significant Earnings Surprises in the Russell 3000. * * * * You have received this e-mail as part of your subscription to PowerFeed. If you no longer want to receive e-mails from PowerFeed, [click here](. You’re receiving this e-mail at {EMAIL}. For questions about your account or to speak with customer service, call [+1 (877) 697-6783 (U.S.)](tel:18776976783), 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Eastern time or e-mail info@chaikinanalytics.com. 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