Friends
Despite a lousy retail sales number (or perhaps because of it), stocks enjoyed a nice move to the upside today, as traders decided to step up to the plate and do some buying. Perhaps, the weak economic data emboldened the bulls with the belief that the Fed may back off on its alleged plans to start tightening as soon as June. I’m not sure one data point will turn the “hawkish” tide, but for today, we’ll call it a bad news is good news win for the bulls.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 259 points to finish the day at 17,895. The S&P 500 was up 25 points to close at 2065. Gold was up $1 to trade at $1152 per ounce, while oil was down $1.07 to trade at $47.10 per barrel WTI.
Once again, just when the bears seemed to have the stars aligned in their favor, the bulls turned the tide. Next week’s Fed meeting should be very interesting, as market participants will be waiting with bated breath to see what the FOMC has up its sleeve. First let’s see how the week ends tomorrow.
Have a nice evening everyone.
