weekly market update 2/9/2024

For the first time in history, the S&P 500 closed above 5,000 while the index also matched its best stretch on record, rising 14 of the last 15 weeks (per SentimentTrader).  Underpinning the strength has been a resilient US growth backdrop and any data that has run counter to that narrative has largely been shrugged off, as investors increasingly believe that if something bad happens, the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates.  Next week will be an important test for this historic rally as investors get a variety of inflation data, headlined by the January consumer price index (CPI) on Tuesday.

SUPER INFLATED TICKET PRICES

The market is anticipating 2.9% year-over-year headline inflation for Tuesday’s CPI report, the slowest pace since March 2021, but Super Bowl ticket prices must have missed that memo.  Per ticket reseller, TickPick, Sunday’s showdown between the San Francisco 49ers and the Kansas City Chiefs will be the most expensive Super Bowl game ever and by a large margin (see Bloomberg chart below).  Tickets prices have moderated as we get closer to Sunday, but entering February, the average seat at Super Bowl LVIII was a whopping $9,815, or about 70% higher than last year’s game.  A 49ers-Chiefs Super Bowl preceded the pandemic-fueled surge in inflation, so here’s hoping this showdown four years later hallmarks a return to more normal inflation trends.

Ian G. Browning, CFA
Managing Director, Investment Strategies | Shareholder

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