Gerry Sparrow

The Fed's decision to keep rates steady and signal three rate cuts this year boosted markets, with all three averages closing at record highs.

The news rattled investors and contributed to stocks closing lower for three consecutive days to end the week, with the energy, financials, and materials sectors all posting gains last week, showing that other groups may join the tech-led rally.

Stocks were down for the week as investors appeared to take some profits and traders parsed Fed Chair Jerome Powell's Congressional testimony.

As stocks extended their tech-lead advance, AI names powered the gains in the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq Composite.

The market's enthusiasm for AI was palpable, with investors concluding that AI's impact may just be starting and anticipating it will be a driving economic force in 2024 and beyond.

Markets were quiet Monday but opened lower Tuesday in response to the January inflation report that showed higher-than-expected consumer prices.

The stock market experienced solid gains last week, concluding the trading week on a positive note, thanks to robust corporate reports and favorable inflation news.

At the beginning of the week, stocks surged, anticipating fourth-quarter corporate updates from tech companies and the Federal Reserve's two-day policy meeting; this led to the S&P 500 Index reaching a new record high on Monday.

Despite the ups and downs, the start of earnings season brought mixed results from a handful of major banks, and investors are cautiously optimistic about the market's trajectory going forward.

Stocks got off to a rough first week of the new year, with tech names leading the week's decline. Several market observers called it the 'reverse Goldilocks' effect, where the market decided investors were getting a little too excited over the prospect of a Fed rate cut.

The rally continued the following day as beneficiaries of lower rates, such as smaller capitalization stocks and real estate, rallied.