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Stocks took a bit of a beating yesterday as exhausted bulls watched some of their late-2023 gains melt away. There are still 8.8 million job vacancies in the US, still quite high by historical standards.

Stocks, still recovering from last month’s celebrations, limped into the new year with losses. Manufacturing slipped further into contraction territory according to the latest PMI revision from S&P Global.

Stocks dipped on the last trading day of the year as the bulls punched out early to head to the pub for a well-deserved toast. 2023 was anything but a straight line, but few could argue that the results should be placed in the “win” column.

Stocks staged a solid rally yesterday as investors pondered life beyond Omicron with early hopes that the new variant is less severe than older ones. China looks like it is ready to ease on monetary policy sparking interest in beaten down Asian shares which were once highfliers.