Friends
Stocks were modestly higher as market participants wait for the Fed decision tomorrow afternoon. In the meantime, earnings continue to roll out and we are seeing companies mainly beat estimates. Whether their shares go up or down after the release seems to have a lot to do with how well or not the shares had done leading up to the report. It does appear that we are seeing a lot of sell the news type of action, but the market averages continue to squeeze higher.
As for today, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 26 points to finish the day at 35,438. The S&P 500 was up 12 points to close at 4,567. The Nasdaq Composite Index was 85 points to close at 14,144. Gold was up $3 to trade at $1,965 per ounce, while oil was up $.85 to trade at $79.59 per barrel WTI.
After the close we will hear from Google and Microsoft. Those are always two names that have the capability to move markets. As mentioned, we expect the Fed to raise the Fed Funds rate by a quarter point tomorrow and leave open the possibility of at least one more rate hike this year. We’ll let you know how it all plays out and what the Fed Chair has to say tomorrow (and more importantly how the market reacts to what the Fed Chair says). Stay tuned.
Have a nice evening everyone.
