Friends
Despite the plethora of news and earnings reports, stocks were mainly quiet with little volatility. Not even an FOMC statement after the Fed meeting could light a fire under the market averages. Sure, there were some movers, in both directions, as the flood of earnings reports continues. Both Apple and Boeing had less than stellar reports, but shares of both companies had lingered recently, and both reports though not great were better than expected. On the other hand Coca-Cola’s shares struggled after its earnings release, which was lacking in many ways.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down a point to finish the day at 18,472. The S&P 500 was down 2 points to close at 2166. Gold was up $16 to trade at $1,337 per ounce, while oil was down $.78 to trade at $42.14 per barrel WTI.
As for the FOMC statement, as expected the Fed did not raise rates at this meeting and it’s hard to know when they actually will, but they did indicate in the statement that risks to the U.S. economy have diminished (Brexit being a non-event after all the hand wringing). With these “risks” now diminished and economic data trending positively domestically, perhaps a rate hike is back on the table for 2016, but we’ve been down this road before, and it’s better to believe it when we see it. More earnings this afternoon and tomorrow. We’ll continue to monitor.
Have a nice evening everyone.
