Last year the stock market flummoxed those analysts expecting a recession due to the Federal Reserve’s unprecedentedly quick raise of interest rates. Stocks turned in a banner year on the back of strong performances from big tech, and then turned on the afterburners in the last three months to cap it all off. Even financials rallied after a blow-up in the first half. But with stocks now near 52-week highs, how will equities fare in 2024 with looming economic uncertainty?
Experts surveyed in Bankrate’s Fourth-Quarter Market Mavens survey saw the market moving modestly higher in 2024, about 6 percent, amid economic and political uncertainty. Chief among their concerns was interest rates, particularly given stocks’ stupendous performance of late and a market that seems to expect the Fed to lower rates faster than it has indicated it would.
So the Fed’s actions should likely be…
