Friends
Stocks opened lower today and given the move higher we have seen this quarter, it was not surprising that market participants thought it might be a good time to take a little off the table. After the initial 300 point plus selloff in the Dow at the open, traders then waited for the release of last month’s Fed minutes. The basic takeaway from the release was that Fed officials still have their eyes on inflation, but they are becoming satisfied that their policy actions and communications are already seeing results. Of course, a bad CPI number in September could shake that belief, but it appears that the Fed might slow the pace of rate increases, as it becomes a little more likely that we see a 50-basis point hike in September instead of the previously predicted 75-basis points. But as I mentioned they will have a lot of data to peruse before then, so like all narratives this year, this could change several times before the next meeting.
As for today stocks did recover some of the early losses and by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 171 points to finish the day at 33,980. The S&P 500 was down 31 points to close at 4,274. The Nasdaq Composite Index was down 164 points to close at 12,938. Gold was down $8 to trade at $1,781 per ounce, while oil was up $1.18 to trade at $87.71 per barrel WTI.
This week earnings releases from the likes of Walmart, TJX, Home Depot and Lowes have all been acceptable after some had prewarned. We get Target after the close today who also had lowered expectations. Though struggling with inventories, most retailers are managing their way through these uncertain times pretty effectively. Let’s see how the rest of the week unfolds.
Have a nice evening everyone.
