This week so far has had a little bit of everything. The S&P 500 and Dow both started strong, hit fresh highs, and then gave a chunk of it back by Thursday. The S&P was up about 1.5 percent at one point before slipping late in the week. Same deal with the Dow. It came close to its December high but couldn’t quite hold it, ending slightly lower after a few solid sessions.
The Fed didn’t move rates, which wasn’t a surprise. But there were two dissenting votes, both favoring cuts, and that hasn’t happened in decades. Powell stuck to the script about staying data-driven. Inflation is still hovering around 2.7 percent, which isn’t low enough for comfort, but GDP came in at a strong 3 percent and unemployment held steady. Traders had been leaning toward a rate cut in September, but after the Fed meeting, those odds dropped closer to 45 percent.
On the earnings front, it was a mixed picture. Big tech did most of the heavy lifting, with Microsoft and Meta especially pushing things higher, but those gains didn’t stick. Healthcare names like Eli Lilly and UnitedHealth took a hit after new pricing pressure came from the White House. And then there was Figma, which popped nearly 250 percent in its debut and got a lot of attention.
So overall, not a bad week. Just a bit uneven. Strong data and solid earnings helped, but the Fed’s cautious tone and a few sector-specific drops kept things from really breaking out.
About Pete Southern
Pete Southern is an active trader, chartist and writer for market blogs. He is currently technical analysis contributor and admin at this here blog.
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