Friends
Well, your intrepid advisor/author of emails (that would be me) suggested that stock market volatility, especially intraday volatility was likely to pick up this earnings season. Indeed, it has and today was another example. After yesterday’s shellacking, stocks rocketed to a 200 plus Dow point rally this morning, only to give it up and fall into negative territory after the Fed announcement (no change in rates, by the way). But in the last hour the bulls circled the wagons and pushed the market averages back into positive territory. The wild rides are becoming more frequent, and may be an indication that things are changing just a bit.
By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 72 points to finish the day at 26,149. The S&P 500 was up 1 point to close at 2,823. Gold was up $10 to trade at $1,350 per ounce, while oil was up $.33 to trade at $64.83 per barrel WTI.
As mentioned, the Fed held steady today with regards to interest rates, but the belief on the street is that we will see at least 3 one quarter point raises this year. The economic backdrop should give the Fed comfort to raise rates, but it will be interesting to see how gradual that process is. If the Fed gets frisky and throws a ½ point raise in there or embarks on more than 3 quarter point raises the markets might have more to think about. Stay tuned.
Have a nice evening everyone.
