Another business year is now officially in the books. The S&P 500 finished the year with nine consecutive weeks of gains and nearly hit an all-time high. The broad market index recorded a return of 24.2% for the year. The Dow Jones Industrial posted a 13.7% rise, while the Nasdaq was the biggest gainer, up nearly 43.4%. Despite all the excitement about possible new highs, it was a quiet week for the markets, characterized by low volume in an overbought market. We didn't get caught up in any FOMO and instead decided to wait for a better opportunity to buy (or sell) stocks. It was a nice break before 2024 began, and we had a chance to review Q3 earnings and rate our holdings. Heading into the new year, we hit the ground running with several key macroeconomic reports and an earnings release from one of our holdings. 1. Jobs, jobs, jobs. The main event this week is Friday's jobs report. Investors watch this closely because employment is generally very important to a consumer-driven economy. They also refine the report's data (especially wage inflation) for clues about consumer purchasing power. This indirectly points to the possible future path of inflation. Therefore, in addition to the headline figure (economists expect to see 155,000 additions), we are closely monitoring the unemployment rate (3.8% expected) and wage inflation, where we expect an increase of 4% compared to the same period. from the previous year. . The ADP jobs report is released a day early (it's usually released on Wednesday, except when the market is closed on Monday), where economists expect to see 115,000 additions. Non-farm payrolls carry more weight, but expect investors to scrutinize the ADP report for clues about Friday's report. We will also receive the JOLTS (Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey) job openings report on Wednesday. JOLTS analyzes the number of vacant positions (more vacant positions means fewer workers available to fill those positions, indicating a tighter labor market, supply and demand), as well as the hiring rate and the rate of workers leaving their positions. job. 2. Is the manufacturing industry still in recession? The ISM manufacturing report will be released on Wednesday and factory orders on Friday. The expectation is that we are still in a manufacturing recession with consensus estimates for ISM Manufacturing at 47.1 as of Friday. It is also important to monitor factory orders, but it is a more delayed report; this will be a November reading, while ISM will be a December publication. Additionally, the nonfarm payrolls report released Friday morning will likely eclipse it. We will also see ISM services on Friday, where economists expect a reading of 52.7% for the month of December. As a reminder, the ISM report measures the rate of contraction or expansion, measured by the distance from that 50-level reference point. The further below 50, the faster the contraction and the further above 50, the faster the expansion rate. 3. A last report of the Club's results. Constellation Brands reports third-quarter earnings on Friday before the opening bell. We have seen some positive previews in recent weeks. JPMorgan analysts rated it a top beverage choice for 2024, while Barclays analysts raised their price target due to positive momentum in beer sales, and Goldman Sachs analysts reiterated that STZ is a "buy for conviction". In addition to monitoring beer's continued strength (remember, depletion accelerated at a faster pace than Wall Street had last forecast), we'll look for confirmation of management messaging that wine and spirits sales They are starting to recover. above. Monday, January 1 Markets closed for New Year's Tuesday, January 2 No notable events Wednesday, January 3 10:00 am ET: ISM Manufacturing 10:00 am ET: JOLTS Job Openings 2:00 pm ET: FOMC Minutes Before the bell: UniFirst Corporation (UNF) After the bell: Cal-Maine Foods (CALM) Thursday, January 4 8:15 a.m. ET: ADP Employment Report 8:30 a.m. ET: Initial unemployment claims Before the bell: Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA), Lamb Weston (LW), RPM International (RPM), Conagra Brands (CAG) Friday, January 5 8:30 a.m. ET: Nonfarm Payrolls 10:00 a.m. ET: Factory Orders 10:00 a.m. ET: ISM Services Before the Bell: Constellation Brands (STZ), Greenbrier Companies (GBX) (see here for a complete list of Jim Cramer's Charitable Trust holdings). As a subscriber to the CNBC Investing Club with Jim Cramer, you will receive a trade alert before Jim makes a trade. . Jim waits 45 minutes after sending a trade alert before buying or selling a stock in his charitable fund's portfolio. If Jim has talked about a stock on CNBC TV, he waits 72 hours after issuing the trade alert before executing the trade. THE ABOVE INVESTMENT CLUB INFORMATION IS SUBJECT TO OUR TERMS AND CONDITIONS AND PRIVACY POLICY, TOGETHER WITH OUR DISCLAIMER. NO FIDUCIARY OBLIGATION OR DUTY EXISTS OR IS CREATED BY VIRTUE OF THE RECEIPT OF ANY INFORMATION PROVIDED IN RELATION TO THE INVESTMENT CLUB. NO SPECIFIC RESULTS OR BENEFITS ARE GUARANTEED.
A case of Constellation Brands Inc. Corona beer sits on a cooler shelf during a delivery in Ottawa, Illinois, U.S., Tuesday, April 2, 2019.
Daniel Acker | Bloomberg | fake images
Another business year is now officially in the books. The S&P 500 finished the year with nine consecutive weeks of gains and nearly hit an all-time high. The broad market index recorded a return of 24.2% for the year. The Dow Jones Industrial posted a 13.7% rise, while the Nasdaq was the biggest gainer, up nearly 43.4%.
