We hope Santa Claus visited your home last week because a Santa Claus rally was noticeably absent from Wall Street this week. The market is trading lower in light trading during the last trading session of 2022. Looking ahead, many of the same themes that dominated 2022 will remain in place in 2023, including Inflation, interest rates, and recession fears.

Investors will get manufacturing data and the employment outlook as trading volume ramps next week. But investors won’t start getting a clear direction until the CPI data comes out on January 12. After that, it will be all about corporate earnings. If earnings come in below expectations, the market could go much lower. You can count on the MarketBeat team to stay on top of this volatile market. Here are some of the most popular stories our analysts were covering this week.

Articles by Jea Yu

Southwest Airlines Co. (NYSE: LUV) has been making headlines for all the wrong reasons this week. And the fallout from canceled flights and labor unrest will impact the company’s financials in 2023. But as Jea Yu points out, there’s a lot for investors to love. The carrier was the first of the airlines to reinstate its dividend and the company has been adding routes and airplanes at a time when other airlines are still unwinding their debt.

Yu was also looking at Generac Holdings Inc. (NYSE: GNRC) this week. The stock has been hard hit this year. But as Yu points out, the recent winter storm that swept the country reminds consumers of the benefits of having a backup power source. But first, the company has to boost its installer base.

And if you’re looking for growth in 2023, Yu offers a tasty idea. Yum! Brands Inc. (NYSE:YUM) has been surging higher since its last earnings report. You’ll want to see the technical indicator that Yu believes may signal a strong start to the new year for YUM stock.  

Articles by Thomas Hughes

Every investor knows that the tech sector has taken it on the chin this year. But as Thomas Hughes writes this week, some believe that 2023 may be the year that tech rebounds. And if it does, Hughes advises investors to pay attention to the dogs of tech; that is the three stocks that have dropped the furthest in 2022. if the tech sector still feels too risky for you, Hughes also wrote about three stocks that are getting buy ratings from analysts.

As Hughes writes, analysts are looking to reward companies that “deliver proven performance and the ability to grow margins in the face of rising inflation.”  However, if you’re looking for just one stock that may be ready to keep moving higher, Hughes suggests looking at Dick’s Sporting Goods, Inc. (NYSE: DKS). Analysts remain bullish on the company which, as Hughes notes, is likely to report solid earnings for the fourth quarter.

Articles by Chris Markoch

Like its founder and CEO Elon Musk, Tesla, Inc.  (NASDAQ:TSLA) just can’t seem to get out of the news. But for long-time investors, 2022 is a year they’d rather forget. The stock is down over 65%. So Chris Markoch took a look under the hood and lays out the fundamental reasons for the stock’s poor performance. But he also points out that while the bears are in control, the bulls may have the upper hand.

Markoch also looked at the industrial sector and gave our readers three industrial stocks that may benefit from the surge in infrastructure spending expected to continue in the first quarter. And for investors looking for the relative safety of dividend stocks, Markoch points out three high-yield dividend stocks that make a case for share price growth in addition to additional dividend growth.

Articles by Kate Stalter                                                          

Kate Stalter reminds investors that sometimes you have to look for winners wherever they appear. And while the steel industry is not always top of mind for investors, it has been one of the big winners in 2022 and looks to remain that way as infrastructure spending really kicks in next year. With that in mind, Stalter gives investors three steel stocks to put on your watchlist for the new year.