Friends
Stocks rallied today, first on very good earnings reports from the likes of Apple, Boeing and McDonalds, then on a dovish Fed statement this afternoon. As expected, the Fed did not raise interest rates today, but more importantly they offered a very dovish tone with regards to future rate hikes. The word “patient” was the key in today’s statement. Chairman Powell all but said that rate hikes have been put on hold for the time being and that if necessary they could take the quantitative tightening program off auto pilot. The bulls celebrated a very friendly Fed stance.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 434 points to finish the day at 25,014. The S&P 500 was up 41 points to close at 2,681. Gold was up $10 to trade at $1,319 per ounce, while oil was up $.94 to trade at $54.25 per barrel WTI.
Good earnings and a friendly Fed gave the bulls all they needed today to push stocks higher. On the economic front the GDP number was delayed because of the government shutdown, but the pending home sales number was down once again, so the Fed’s new found dovishness might just be warranted. On the other hand today’s ADP private payroll number was better than expected, so let’s see what the non-farm payroll number looks like on Friday.
Have a nice evening everyone.
