Friends
It didn’t take long (two days to be exact), but Fed governors are opening their mouths once again. Today is was St. Louis Fed Governor Bullard who proclaimed that he only sees one rate hike into 2018. That’s right, these folks who seemingly can’t predict economic data from month to month now are going to “guide” us years into the future. Of course it’s nonsense and the stock market seemed to agree as yesterday’s reversal quickly disappeared at the opening of trading this morning. After a precipitous decline, the bulls marshalled their forces and another reversal unfolded. Unfortunately, the bulls ran out of gas just attempting to get everything back to even, and by the close stocks had drifted back down into negative territory.
For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 58 points to close at 17,674. The S&P 500 was down 6 points to finish the day at 2071. Gold was up a tad to trade at $1,299 per ounce, while oil was up $1.88 to trade at $48.09 per barrel WTI.
As we enter the sizzling heat of summer, market participants appear to be a bit on edge. The bulls look around and see domestic economic conditions worsening or at best stagnant, a European event on the table within a week (Brexit), and companies in the middle of an earnings recession. The bears, feeling they have had the facts on their side for some time now, continue to be frustrated that the stock market has bent but just doesn’t seem to break. With interest rates at zero forever, is TINA (there is no alternative) back in play?
Have a great weekend everyone and Happy Father’s Day to all of our fathers out there. Enjoy and stay cool.
