thependulumswings

Friends

Stocks staged several rallies today, but in the end it was much ado about nothing. As is often the case on Fed day, traders weren’t sure how to react to the FOMC statement and Chairman Powell’s Q&A. It seemed apparent that the Fed continues to take a dovish stance with regards to monetary policy- meaning there is very little chance of any rate hikes any time soon, and they continue to increase their balance sheet. On the earnings front, Apple had a blowout quarter, while others that reported had mixed results.

When all was said and done, stocks ended up virtually unchanged for the day. By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 11 points to finish the day at 28,734. The S&P 500 was down 2 points to close at 3,273. Gold was up $6 to trade at $1,576 per ounce, while oil was down $.38 to trade at $53.10 per barrel WTI.

The coronavirus news continues to grab the headlines and traders’ attention. Uncertainty is poison for stocks, and it’s a little surprising that the markets have held up as well as they have given the somewhat disturbing news that we continue to get on the spread of the virus. We’ll watch as Facebook and Microsoft report after the close today, among others.

Have a nice evening everyone.

Jim