Friends
The PPI number came in a little better than expected this morning confirming that as is the case at the retail level, inflation continues to moderate at the wholesale level. Jobless claims ticked higher also this week another confirmation that though the employment picture is still strong, it too is trending negative. If it wasn’t for the problems we are seeing in the regional and community banks, one might almost say that the Fed is achieving just what they set out to achieve.
Stocks spent the day mainly lower and by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 221 points to finish the day at 33,309. The S&P 500 was down 7 points to close at 4,130. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 22 points to close at 12,328. Gold was down $16 to trade at $2,021 per ounce, while oil was down $1.20 to trade at $71.36 per barrel WTI.
Stocks are facing a lot of headwinds at the moment, but they have for some time now. We have the debt ceiling battle upon us, a recession that has been scheduled for about a year now, and a Federal Reserve that is in a caged death match with inflation, and a banking system that has shown cracks lately. Still, stocks continue to basically drift along. Let’s see how the week ends tomorrow.
Have a nice evening everyone.
