Friends
While market participants wait for the folks in Washington D.C. to do something incredibly stupid with regards to the debt ceiling fiasco (most likely there will be a kick the can down the road agreement at the last minute), we got a look at the Fed minutes from the last FOMC meeting. Though all of the Fed Governors voted unanimously to raise rates a quarter of a point a few weeks ago, where they go from here seems to be up for debate. Some Fed officials feel like there might be the need for another rate hike or two, while some appear to want to pause for the moment and take stock of what they have accomplished and what damage they have done. In the meantime, investors continue to back away from the table until there is more clarity on the debt ceiling situation.
As for today, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 255 points to finish the day at 32,799. The S&P 500 was up down 30 points to close at 4,115. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 76 points to close at 12,484. Gold was down $11 to trade at $1,962 per ounce, while oil was up $.95 to trade at $73.86 per barrel WTI.
It doesn’t appear that the bulls have much of a chance to get any type of rally going at the moment, at least until the debt ceiling situation is resolved. The big news after the close will be earnings from AI chip maker Nvidia. It’s a darling stock that has moved a lot, both ways in the last couple of years, but higher this year. It may set the tone for Nasdaq tomorrow, but the market in general is captive to debt ceiling debate until further notice. Stay tuned.
Have a nice evening everyone.
