The Latest Breaking News on Economic Optimism Soars as Americans Embrace Promising Outlook for 2024

Asian stock markets are higher after Wall Street rose ahead of what traders hope will be the last Federal Reserve interest rate hike for some time

Inflation is cooling, and parts of the economy appear to be weakening

Investors are pricing in a mild interest rate hike this week, but if they get something more aggressive, stocks are in trouble, Jeremy Siegel says.

The Australian share markets close up 0.3 per cent. Catch up on the day's events and insights from our business reporters on the ABC News live markets blog.

The US housing slump stretched into a fifth month, sending a measure of prices down 2.5% from a peak in June.

U.S. employment costs rose at a slower-than-expected pace in the closing months of 2022, adding to signs of moderating inflation that reinforces the case for a smaller interest-rate increase by the Federal Reserve this week.

Looming recession fears, the Federal Reserve’s persistent monetary tightening plans, and stubbornly high inflation continue to impact investor sentiment. Hence, it could be wise to add fundamentally sound stocks Pfizer (PFE), Rio Tinto (RIO), and Lockheed Martin (LMT) to beat the market fluctuations this year. Continue reading….

Growth prospects of the grocery industry are anticipated to be bolstered by improved consumer sentiments and surging e-commerce adoption. Given this backdrop, quality grocery store and supermarket stocks Walmart (WMT), Albertsons Companies (ACI), Casey’s General Stores (CASY), and Sprouts Farmers Market (SFM) might be solid buys now. Read on….

Although inflation has cooled down over the past few months, the Fed intends to keep raising interest rates until inflation falls to its desired level. This is expected to push the economy into a recession. Investors looking to stabilize their portfolios against potential market volatility might look to add large-cap…

S&P 500 investors braced for the worst coming into this year. But they should have prepared for the best.

The International Monetary Fund says there are indications that surging prices are peaking and that the world may be winning the war against inflation. And while the ASX ended the day lower, it jumped more than 6 per cent in January.