S&P 500 Hits New All-Time High Heading Into Super Bowl Weekend

SPX surpasses 5,000 ahead of CPI next week. The SPX set a new all-time high today after a gradual .57% climb, closing at 5,027. The rally was fueled by AI-related technology stock gains and a downward revision to December’s headline CPI (now at 0.2% from 0.3% originally). Meanwhile, Fed President Bostic said that he is “laser focused” on returning inflation to 2% and added that there are “still ways to go”, while fellow Fed President Logan voiced that there is no urgency to cut rates. Overall, rates rose ~2bps across the curve throughout the trading session. Focus will now shift toward next week’s CPI slate, where core YoY inflation is expected to drop to 3.7% from 3.9%.

New York Community Bank (NYCB) stock rebounds on executive buybacks. NYCB shares climbed as much as 16% today after reports that the CEO and other insiders purchased over 200k shares. The move follows Wednesday’s announcement by the bank’s new executive chairman Alessandro DiNello that the bank has enough liquidity to remain solvent, with “virtually no deposit outflow.” The developments this week are especially important since markets are concerned that NYCB’s elevated provisioning could signal broader credit troubles. Fed President Kashkari said Wednesday that the Fed is “paying attention very closely” to NYCB, though he is not concerned about a wider contagion effect since risks are largely concentrated in the office sector, as opposed to CRE across the board. The KRE climbed ~1.4% today.

49ers and Chiefs to face off in the ever-so-expensive Super Bowl. Sunday’s big game features a rematch from a few years past, a battle between Tom Brady’s heir-apparent and Mr. Irrelevant, and some costly prices. After all, nearly 500k people are expected to travel to Las Vegas for the game, expected to total nearly 130 million viewers worldwide. Tickets for the Super Bowl are on pace to be the most expensive ever, as the average price is currently ~$8,600. That offers little comparison to advertising expenses, however, as commercials cost ~$7mm for a 30-second slot. Let’s just hope that the excitement (and money) bears an exciting game – happy Super Bowl Sunday!