The stock market experienced a decline for most of the week, with only the Dow Jones registering a slim gain due to money flowing into blue chip names. The other major indices registered losses due to renewed growth concerns. The surprise production cut announcement of 1.16 million barrels per day by OPEC+ in May, which will continue through the end of the year, sent oil prices soaring by 6.4% to $80.70/bbl. After the market digested this move, growth concerns rose to the forefront and influenced the price action for the remainder of the week.

Last week was a good week for the stock market as the S&P 500 continued to climb, reaching above the 4,100 level by the end of the week. The financial sector also saw an uptick of 3.7%, though it declined 6.1% over the first quarter of the year. The rally was fueled in part by strong leadership from semiconductor stocks, which rose 3.5% last week and surged 27.6% over the first quarter.

Stock market volatility continued last week. Overall, it started out pretty strong and ended on a firm note, but there were some ups and downs in between as investors weighed ongoing concerns about the bank industry and the latest policy moves from the Fed.

U.S. Markets: The major U.S. indexes finished the week mixed reflecting the stresses in the banking sector, worries over an impending recession, and hopes that the Federal Reserve would now be forced to moderate or pause its rate-hiking cycle. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the week down just 48 points to 31,862—a decline of -0.1%. The technology-heavy NASDAQ Composite retraced most of last week’s decline by rallying 4.4% to close at 11,631. By market cap, the large cap S&P 500 rose 1.4%, while the mid cap S&P 400 pulled back -3.2% and the small cap Russell 2000 finished the week down -2.6%.

Last week, the stock market experienced a significant amount of volatility. This was due in part to a variety of political and economic news and events that occurred during the week of March 6-10, 2023.

One of the biggest factors affecting the market was the ongoing tensions between the United States and China. This led to a series of retaliatory measures from both sides, including tariffs and other trade restrictions. These actions had a negative impact on many companies that rely heavily on trade with China, as well as those that do business with Chinese companies.

The stock market had a lot of action during the week of February 27 to March 3, 2023, with a mix of positive and negative news affecting various sectors.

On Monday, March 27, the market opened lower due to concerns about rising inflation and a potential interest rate hike. However, it quickly rebounded as investors focused on positive news from the technology sector. Tesla announced plans to build a new factory in Texas, while Alphabet revealed a new advertising partnership with Amazon. These announcements helped to boost tech stocks and the overall market.

So, let me tell you about what happened in the stock market last week. It was quite a rollercoaster ride, with a lot of news impacting the market.
First off, we saw a big dip in the market on Monday. That was mostly due to concerns about rising inflation and interest rates. The Fed has been talking about potentially raising rates, which would make borrowing more expensive and slow down economic growth. Investors were also worried about the impact of rising energy prices and supply chain disruptions, which could lead to higher prices for consumers.

The S&P 500 and Dow Jones Industrial Average both ended the week lower as investors reacted to a mixed bag of economic data and comments from several Federal Reserve officials. Specifically, concerns about rising inflation, coupled with comments from Fed officials indicating that they may support more aggressive rate hikes, fueled worries that the Fed may need to raise interest rates more than previously expected.

U.S. Markets:  The major U.S. market indexes ended the week lower amid a relatively light week of economic reports.  The Dow Jones Industrial Average pulled back just 57 points to 33,869, a decline of -0.2%.  After five consecutive weeks of positive closes, the technology-heavy NASDAQ Composite gave back some of its gains by closing down -2.4%.  By market cap, the large cap S&P 500 retreated -1.1%, while the mid cap S&P 400 gave up -2.5% and the small cap Russell 2000 fared the worst of the major indexes, declining -3.4%.

U.S. Markets:  Most of the major U.S. stock market benchmarks extended their winning streaks into February, helped by some upside surprises in economic data and fourth-quarter earnings reports.  The S&P 500 index reached an intraday high of 4,195 this week, its best level since late August.  The narrowly-focused Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 52 points last week closing at 33,926—a decline of -0.2%.  However, the technology-heavy NASDAQ Composite tacked on its fifth consecutive week of gains rising an additional 3.3%.  By market cap, the large cap S&P 500 finished the week up 1.6%, while the mid-cap S&P 400 added 3.4% and the small cap Russell 2000 closed up 3.9%.