Wall Street is eyeing a weekly loss to kick off 2023
The dust has settled for 2022, but the new year hasn't gotten off to the start that a lot of investors were hoping for. The major indexes stumbled into 2023 with slight losses for the first session of the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI), Nasdaq Composite Index (IXIC), and S&P 500 Index (SPX) inched higher the following afternoon, eventually securing solid daily wins despite hawkish Federal Reserve comments.
However, Thursday's jobless claims reading weighed on Wall Street, after the optimistic data all but confirmed more interest rate hikes to come. In the end, the Dow shed triple digits, while Wall Street's "fear gauge," the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) ticked higher. At last check, the Dow and S&P 500 were heading for weekly wins, while the Nasdaq was on track to end at breakeven.
Stocks to Watch This Month, Year
First thing's first, our top picks for 2023 are in, and we're predicting big returns for drugmaker AbbVie (ABBV). However, if historical data is more your speed, then maybe you want to consider Chevron (CVX) or Alphabet (GOOGL), both of which have a history of outperforming in the month of January. Similarly, Celsius (CELH) and Charles Schwab (SCHW) both boast bull signals that have historically upbeat implications, and the latter's outlook was all but confirmed by an analyst note. Meanwhile, there's good reason to avoid Pfizer (PFE) in the coming month.
Headlines of the Week
What happened to Bed Bath & Beyond (BBBY)? After enjoying status as a heavy-hitting meme stock, the retailer's shares are now firmly in penny stock territory and the company looks poised to file for bankruptcy. The latter points led Keybanc to lower its price target to just 10 cents per share.
Bed Bath & Beyond's demise might be one of the most interesting stock market news stories of the year, but there's a case to be made for the tumult in the cryptospace. Stepping back from the drama, Walgreens Boots Alliance (WBA) kicked off earnings for the Dow components. Elsewhere, Salesforce announced "restructuring plans" -- a gift-wrapped way of saying it will cut 10% of its staff -- while biotech concern Novocure (NVCR) announced upbeat results for its experimental lung cancer therapy.
Inflation Data Lies Ahead
With 2023 firmly underway, investors are looing ahead towards pertinent inflation data, as well as earnings from a number of big name corporations. Before that, let's dig into what happened with the SPX in 2022 (here's a hint: it happened since 1974) as well as two scenarios that traders should be prepared for this month.