The US stock market continued to hit another milestone last week when the benchmark S&P 500 recorded 14 weekly gains in the past 15 weeks as of 9 February 2024, its longest winning streak since 1972.
After stellar Q4 quarterly and 2023 annual performances of 11.24% and 24.23% respectively, the US S&P 500 has started 2024 on a lacklustre footing, in the past two and half weeks, it has recorded an accumulated loss of -0.64% at this time of the writing after missing just a whisker to retest its all-time high of 4,818 set on 4 January 2022 with an intraday high of 4,802 printed on last Friday, 12 January 2024.
When bond yields rise, the opportunity cost of capital committed to equities rises, and therefore, the expected return on equities decreases. As a result, equities command lower valuations.