Stock Market Prepares to Open after Low Week

Can the US stock market recover after a hard previous week? We expect to see sluggish trading as investors are still worried about high inflation rates.

All three major indices managed to open up on Monday in the early hours of trading, but they were down overall for last week. Are the higher opening numbers because the market was far enough removed from bad news about higher than expected inflation rates? We will have to see as the market trades through today.

As of press time, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was trading up by 0.88%. The S&P 500 was trading up by 0.83%, and the Nasdaq Composite is trading with an increase of 0.71%.

Last week was brutal for the market, with the Dow Jones losing 2.4%. That would make it the hardest week for the Dow Jones since March of last year. This is how significantly high inflation news has affected the market and gives some indication of how it might affect it moving forward.

The Nasdaq Composite experienced the third week in a row of losses, and the S&P 500 lost 1.5% for the week. Overall, the market suffered and may have a hard time getting out of its rut this week.

Outlook for the Stock Market

What can we expect for the stock market this week? Can anything help lift the numbers a bit?

Later this week, we have reports on retail sales and the IMF meeting that could help somewhat. Of course, these numbers could show increased inflation and decreased spending, signaling even more of an economic crisis. That has been the theme of many of the earnings reports for 2024. When the reports are not overly positive, the stock tends to sink, even when sales are up from the previous quarter. This denotes lower consumer confidence in the economy and makes it harder for the market and the wider economy to recover.