Friends
It was another sloppy day for stocks after the bulls tried to rally the troops early in the trading session. Given that everyone is waiting on the Fed’s decision on interest rates tomorrow (and perhaps the speed and intensity of QT), it’s not surprising that potential buyers want to take a wait a see approach. What I’m not sure of is exactly what the markets want from the Fed tomorrow. They have signaled for weeks that a half a point (50 basis points) hike is likely, but word leaked yesterday that 75 basis points might be the choice. 75 basis points this meeting and 75 basis points next meeting in July would signal that the Fed is deadly serious about fighting inflation, but it might also heighten the possibility that the Fed is going to throw the economy into a recession. So, if the Fed hikes 75 basis points do markets like that better than 50? If they stick with a 50-basis point hike will the markets be disappointed or relieved? Place exploding head emoji here.
As for today, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 151 points to finish the day at 30,364. The S&P 500 was down 14 points to close at 3,735. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 19 points to close at 10,828. Gold was down $21 to trade at $1,810 per ounce, while oil was down $2.65 to trade at $118.28 per barrel WTI.
All eyes will be on the Fed tomorrow. As I mentioned, this is a meeting that now has some intrigue around it. We’ll let you know how it all plays out tomorrow. Stay tuned.
Have a nice evening everyone.
