Global Equities Witness a Bumpy Ride in January

In the first month of 2024, markets have exhibited a rather muted and somewhat volatile performance, despite experiencing an uptick. This trend isn't entirely unexpected, given the robust rally seen in the final weeks of 2023, during which the S&P 500 surged more than 15 per cent from late October to December.

During the shortened trading week due to the holiday for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, in the U.S., the stocks mostly closed on a higher note in the past fortnight. However, gains were limited and primarily concentrated in growth stocks, with the equally weighted S&P 500 Index experiencing a slight decline. Information technology shares, particularly in the semiconductor sector, performed well. NVIDIA and Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), two prominent AI chip manufacturers, saw significant strength.

The season for fourth-quarter earnings reports was still in its initial phase, with just 23 companies from the S&P 500 slated to release their earnings during the week. Boeing, a Dow Jones Industrial Average member, saw its shares drop notably after a downgrade from analysts who warned of potential delivery delays for its 737 MAX airliners due to regulatory safety concerns. However, Boeing's stock largely rebounded later in the week.