Friends
It was a difficult day for stocks as talk of inflation (mainly by Fed officials) worked its way back into the narrative. Indeed, bond yields moved back up a bit today after plunging lower amidst all the recession talk the last couple of weeks. The tug-of-war between the inflation narrative and the recession narrative looks like the main feature attraction for the second half of 2022.
As for today, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 402 points to finish the day at 32,396. The S&P 500 was down 27 points to close at 4,091. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 20 points to close at 12,348. Gold was down $8 to trade at $1,779 per ounce, while oil was up $.36 to trade at $ 94.25 per barrel WTI.
As we work our way through the back end of earnings season, inflation, the economy, and the Fed are likely to take center stage in the coming weeks. Narratives change from day to day. Pundits seem to change their mind on the direction of the market almost daily depending on what happened to stocks that day. This environment is likely to last for a while, hence my view that this bear market will be measured more in time than price when it’s all said and done.
Have a nice evening everyone.
