Friday, June 18, 2021Even though we’re now in the final trading day of the week, a day and a half removed from the big economic news — the Fed announcement about rates, buybacks and new dot-plots — we still appear beholden to what the Fed believes about the U.S. economy, and market participants are moving to the sidelines pretty much across the board right now. At its pre-market lows, the Dow was -350 points, the S&P 500 -35 and the Nasdaq -91.
We’ve abated a bit now a half-hour from Friday’s opening bell. And today marks the fairly rare “quadruple witching” period — where options, futures, and indexes of both options and futures all expire at the same time — look to increase volume and perhaps volatility. This is especially pronounced here in “summer hours” of a market Friday, when normal expectations might be for a lower-volume trading market.
Yesterday, Initial Jobless Claims rose to 412K — the highest in the past four weeks, after troughing at 375K the previous week, but still represents the sixth week beneath a “five handle” on new jobless claims. This is not to say jobless claims are finished flowing downward, especially with some 9+ million job openings in the U.S. at this time — an all-time record. Continuing Claims were flat week over week at 3.52 million, representing pandemic-era lows but perhaps plateauing here.
Ultimately, Wednesday’s economic report from the Fed continues to entice inflation to enter the market, ostensibly to assist full employment, which is still off the mark. We see the hand played by the monetary policy body this week: we’d rather have higher inflation and full employment than curb inflation while millions of Americans still lie on their couches. The new dot-plot sees interest rate levels increasing next year; in the meantime, all systems are still go.
So why does the market feel it’s the time to sell? Possibly because a ceiling is finally in place. Not just interest rates, but a tapering of bond buybacks is likely in our future. This may be still a ways off, depending on new data regarding inflation, employment, etc. But as of now, markets feel the cap and are trading accordingly. That’s not to say we’re definitely finishing in the red today, but a cautious attitude prevails.
Questions or comments about this article and/or its author? Click here>>
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After a clean sweep of 6 election referendums in 5 states, pot is now legal in 36 states plus D.C. Federal legalization is expected soon and that could be a still greater bonanza for investors. Even before the latest wave of legalization, Zacks Investment Research has recommended pot stocks that have shot up as high as +285.9%
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Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.
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Friday, June 18, 2021
Even though we’re now in the final trading day of the week, a day and a half removed from the big economic news — the Fed announcement about rates, buybacks and new dot-plots — we still appear beholden to what the Fed believes about the U.S. economy, and market participants are moving to the sidelines pretty much across the board right now. At its pre-market lows, the Dow was -350 points, the S&P 500 -35 and the Nasdaq -91.
We’ve abated a bit now a half-hour from Friday’s opening bell. And today marks the fairly rare “quadruple witching” period — where options, futures, and indexes of both options and futures all expire at the same time — look to increase volume and perhaps volatility. This is especially pronounced here in “summer hours” of a market Friday, when normal expectations might be for a lower-volume trading market.
Yesterday, Initial Jobless Claims rose to 412K — the highest in the past four weeks, after troughing at 375K the previous week, but still represents the sixth week beneath a “five handle” on new jobless claims. This is not to say jobless claims are finished flowing downward, especially with some 9+ million job openings in the U.S. at this time — an all-time record. Continuing Claims were flat week over week at 3.52 million, representing pandemic-era lows but perhaps plateauing here.
Ultimately, Wednesday’s economic report from the Fed continues to entice inflation to enter the market, ostensibly to assist full employment, which is still off the mark. We see the hand played by the monetary policy body this week: we’d rather have higher inflation and full employment than curb inflation while millions of Americans still lie on their couches. The new dot-plot sees interest rate levels increasing next year; in the meantime, all systems are still go.
So why does the market feel it’s the time to sell? Possibly because a ceiling is finally in place. Not just interest rates, but a tapering of bond buybacks is likely in our future. This may be still a ways off, depending on new data regarding inflation, employment, etc. But as of now, markets feel the cap and are trading accordingly. That’s not to say we’re definitely finishing in the red today, but a cautious attitude prevails.
Questions or comments about this article and/or its author? Click here>>
Time to Invest in Legal Marijuana
If you’re looking for big gains, there couldn’t be a better time to get in on a young industry primed to skyrocket from $17.7 billion back in 2019 to an expected $73.6 billion by 2027.
After a clean sweep of 6 election referendums in 5 states, pot is now legal in 36 states plus D.C. Federal legalization is expected soon and that could be a still greater bonanza for investors. Even before the latest wave of legalization, Zacks Investment Research has recommended pot stocks that have shot up as high as +285.9%
You’re invited to check out Zacks’ Marijuana Moneymakers: An Investor’s Guide. It features a timely Watch List of pot stocks and ETFs with exceptional growth potential.
Today, Download Marijuana Moneymakers FREE >>
Zacks Names "Single Best Pick to Double"
From thousands of stocks, 5 Zacks experts each have chosen their favorite to skyrocket +100% or more in months to come. From those 5, Director of Research Sheraz Mian hand-picks one to have the most explosive upside of all.
It’s a little-known chemical company that’s up 65% over last year, yet still dirt cheap. With unrelenting demand, soaring 2022 earnings estimates, and $1.5 billion for repurchasing shares, retail investors could jump in at any time.
This company could rival or surpass other recent Zacks’ Stocks Set to Double like Boston Beer Company which shot up +143.0% in little more than 9 months and NVIDIA which boomed +175.9% in one year.
Free: See Our Top Stock and 4 Runners Up >>
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