Friends
Another good day for stocks and Nasdaq in particular. The momentum stocks led the way, but we saw broad participation across the board. Helping the cause was Janet Yellen’s more dovish testimony before Congress. Once again, the Fed Chair indicated that the Fed is not locked into any tightening schedule, and will be data dependent. This is good news for those who worried that the Fed would ignore any weakening signs and simply plow ahead with rate hikes and balance sheet reduction. Janet still has her dovish streak.
As for stocks, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 123 points to finish the day at 21,532. The S&P 500 was up 17 points to close at 2,443. Gold was up $5 to trade at $1,220 per ounce, while oil was up $.42 to trade at $45.46 per barrel WTI.
Earnings season will kick into gear next week, but first we will get earnings reports from some of the big banks at the end of this week. Market participants seem to be able to get past the political distractions rather quickly. Let’s see what kind of action earnings season elicits. Stay tuned.
Have a nice evening everyone.
