The market has had a wild first two months to the year, firing on all cylinders in January and paring some gains in February, only to resume its upward ascent last week. Investors are now sizing up their outlooks as trading begins for the first full week of March, with several upcoming catalysts that have the potential to sway market direction. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Fed Chair Jay Powell will head to Capitol Hill for his semi-annual testimony, ahead of the February Jobs Report released on Friday. Don't forget the latest Consumer Price Index that will be published next week, as well as Fed's March policy meeting (and quarterly rate projections) that will come at the end of the month.Backdrop: One of the best gauges of market health is the benchmark S&P 500 (SP500), but perhaps an even better gauge of the internal happenings of the market are the sectors that make up the index. They adhere to the same industry taxonomy closely followed by the financial community, which was developed by Standard & Poor's and MSCI in 1999. Called the Global Industry Classification Standard, or GICS, the structure consists of 11 sectors (as well as 24 industry groups, 69 industries and 158 sub-industries) that categorizes all major public companies.What things have shown is that many of the big trades that were hot in 2022, namely energy, consumer staples and healthcare, have been relegated to the back burner. It appears that investors are betting that the record profits seen in 2022 will be hard to replicate in terms of future growth rates, but a rebound might be in store as the year progresses. On the other hand, information technology, which makes up nearly 28% of the S&P 500, has significantly outperformed on the back of rocketing interest in artificial intelligence and massive U.S. subsidies that are pouring into the chip sector.Outlook: The benchmark S&P 500 Index is up 5.8% so far in 2023, after falling nearly 20% in 2022 to mark its worst performance since the financial crisis. It also gives investors plenty of time to make calls on the rest of the year. Check out the 5 Stocks To Own In The S&P 500 by Steve Cress, Head of Quantitative Strategies at Seeking Alpha, as well as SA's stock screener, where users can discover new stocks based on each S&P sector.
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| | Top News  Getty Images The market has had a wild first two months to the year, firing on all cylinders in January and paring some gains in February, only to resume its upward ascent last week. Investors are now sizing up their outlooks as trading begins for the first full week of March, with several upcoming catalysts that have the potential to sway market direction. On Tuesday and Wednesday, Fed Chair Jay Powell will head to Capitol Hill for his semi-annual testimony, ahead of the February Jobs Report released on Friday. Don't forget the latest Consumer Price Index that will be published next week, as well as Fed's March policy meeting (and quarterly rate projections) that will come at the end of the month.
Backdrop: One of the best gauges of market health is the benchmark S&P 500 (SP500), but perhaps an even better gauge of the internal happenings of the market are the sectors that make up the index. They adhere to the same industry taxonomy closely followed by the financial community, which was developed by Standard & Poor's and MSCI in 1999. Called the Global Industry Classification Standard, or GICS, the structure consists of 11 sectors (as well as 24 industry groups, 69 industries and 158 sub-industries) that categorizes all major public companies.
What things have shown is that many of the big trades that were hot in 2022, namely energy, consumer staples and healthcare, have been relegated to the back burner. It appears that investors are betting that the record profits seen in 2022 will be hard to replicate in terms of future growth rates, but a rebound might be in store as the year progresses. On the other hand, information technology, which makes up nearly 28% of the S&P 500, has significantly outperformed on the back of rocketing interest in artificial intelligence and massive U.S. subsidies that are pouring into the chip sector.
Outlook: The benchmark S&P 500 Index is up 5.8% so far in 2023, after falling nearly 20% in 2022 to mark its worst performance since the financial crisis. It also gives investors plenty of time to make calls on the rest of the year. Check out the 5 Stocks To Own In The S&P 500 by Steve Cress, Head of Quantitative Strategies at Seeking Alpha, as well as SA's stock screener, where users can discover new stocks based on each S&P sector. | | Featured  What can $5 buy you at the mall today? Not much. But if you choose wisely, $5 can make a big difference to how you invest. Seeking Alpha Premium is the best source of analysis for almost any investment out there - not only the trending tickers. Thanks to Seeking Alpha's diverse pool of contributors and community debate, you get the bull and the bear perspective on 1000s of stocks. You'll be able to make the most informed buy, hold or sell decisions for your portfolio. Right now you can join Premium for the incredibly low price of $4.95 for your first 30 days. (You can cancel within the first 30 days, after which your annual subscription will kick in at $239 per year.) Get the edge you need to win by joining the leading community of engaged investors today. Go Premium nowIntroductory offer for new subscribers only. After 30 days, $239 will be charged automatically for an annual subscription. Auto-renews as annual subscription at the then current annual list price. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. | | Survey Monday Which S&P 500 sector will walk away with the biggest gain in 2023?
· Communication Services (+11.7% YTD)
· Consumer Discretionary (+12.9% YTD)
· Consumer Staples (-3% YTD)
· Energy (-1.2% YTD)
· Financials (+4.8% YTD)
· Health Care (-5.2% YTD)
· Industrials (+5.2% YTD)
· Information Technology (+12.4% YTD)
· Materials (+8.7% YTD)
· Real Estate (+4.7% YTD)
· Utilities (+6.6% YTD)
Take the survey and see the results here | | Global China's National People's Congress convened its annual parliamentary gathering over the weekend, setting a GDP growth goal of "around 5%" for 2023 to mark its lowest target in over three decades. Perhaps unsurprisingly, China's defense spending will rise by 7.2% - or by nearly $230B - which is greater than its economic growth objective, and ahead of its 5.7% increase in general public expenditure. The figures will be on the radar of lawmakers on Capitol Hill, with U.S. defense spending in focus amid budget cut talks on the debt ceiling. Tensions are also continuing to escalate between the world's largest economies as the Biden administration reportedly prepares a new program that could prohibit American investment in certain sectors in China. (6 comments)
| | | | | Stocks As the debate over conflicts of interest within the U.S. government rages on, Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) is expected to reintroduce a bill today that would ban federal officials from trading stocks. The measure would apply to senior members and their spouses, requiring them to divest their stocks or place them in a blind trust within six months of starting their job (the ban wouldn't apply to diversified mutual funds). Lawmakers in both parties have pushed for restrictions on stock trading by federal officials, especially after the discovery of well-timed trades at the start of the pandemic. While Congress has sought to counteract such misuse of power in 2012 through the STOCK Act, many say it doesn't do enough to prevent insider trading. ( 2 comments) | | Today's Markets In Asia, Japan +1.1%. Hong Kong +0.2%. China -0.2%. India +0.7%.
In Europe, at midday, London -0.4%. Paris +0.3%. Frankfurt +0.3%.
Futures at 6:30, Dow flat. S&P +0.1%. Nasdaq +0.2%. Crude -1.5% to $78.49. Gold flat to $1855.30. Bitcoin -0.1% to $22,390.
Ten-year Treasury Yield -5 bps to 3.91%
Today's Economic Calendar | | | | | Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Breakfast Podcast Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Breakfast podcast brings you all the news you need to know for your market day. Released by 8:00 AM ET each morning, it is a quick listen that you can put on as you get ready to start your working day. | | | | |
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