Stock Market Update Tuesday January 30, 2024

Stock Market Update Tuesday January 30, 2024 When you consider the ubiquity of UPS and the extent to which demand for its services reflects the underlying economy, it puts into perspective the tug-of-war that we continue to witness. While nominal data may appear satisfactory on the surface, there are numerous companies struggling in various ways beneath it. The divergence between the government sector and the private sector serves as a particularly illustrative example of these complex dynamics. UPS didn't have much of an impact on the indices. However, once again, all bad news is considered to be company-specific. The Nasdaq was under pressure by about 1% through midday, primarily due to a negative report concerning a significant drop in Apple shipments for 2024, which actually seemed to matter for a change. This caused AAPL to drop by a couple of percent. Other than that, we observed the same pattern we've seen before, where mega-cap tech stocks propped up the market, while beneath the surface, many companies were gradually declining, as they have been for some time. In the afternoon, the market traded slightly higher, reducing the Nasdaq's loss to about 0.75%

Away From Stocks: WTI crude oil pushed higher toward $78 a barrel, and gold edged up to $2,037 per ounce. The VIX maintained its 13 handle for a fifth consecutive session. Weakness at the short end of the Treasury curve dominated the proceedings ahead of tomorrow’s crucial quarterly refunding announcement. Two-year yields surged by seven basis points to 4.36%, while the long bond performed better, experiencing a three-basis point decline to 4.28%.

Tomorrows Time Pivots, notice the green bar time!