Markets snapped their losing streak. The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 0.33%. The Nasdaq Composite, boosted by a huge 14.02% spike in Nvidia, rose 0.72%. The S&P 500 added 0.53%, ending the trading session at 4,012.32 points — dispelling fears, if only for now, that the index could remain below 4,000 points this year.
Even though stocks have staged a rebound, analysts warn that markets are not out of the woods yet. "The market has not priced in the risk of recession," said BankRate's Chief Financial Analyst Greg McBride. A note from Societe Generale was harsher, saying markets have entered a "Death Zone" — where there is little valuation support for the levels stocks are at now.
Not everyone is pessimistic about the state of the markets, however. Brendan Murphy, head of core fixed income, North America at Insight Investment, thinks the U.S. economy can avoid a recession while bringing inflation down to 2%. "We are now in a period of low growth and moderating inflation," said Murphy.
Newly released data seems to back him. On Thursday, fourth-quarter gross domestic product in the U.S. was revised down from 2.9% to 2.7% on an annualized basis — consumer spending wasn't as strong as initially estimated. While that means it's possible for markets to advance further this year, two pieces of data coming out Friday — January's personal consumption expenditures price index and personal income report — will test that idea.
