Friday, November 7, 2024
In this historic week — and it has been historic — we finally have a little respite, and time to reflect. Lots of companies continue to report earnings, but most of the marquee names are already in the books.
We also had two major questions entering this week, and we got answers to both of them: the General Election was decided with a Red Wave (depending on what happens in the House, which had been predicted to go to the GOP ahead of the election anyway) and the Fed did as most had assumed it would and reduced interest rates by another quarter point to +4.50-4.75% yesterday.
Pre-market futures are mixed but slipping at this hour: the Dow is up +18 points, but the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are down -4 points and -53, respectively. This follows a relief rally, mostly due to election results, of roughly +4% among major indexes. The small-cap Russell 2000 is up nearly +8% over the past five trading days.
What to Expect in the Stock Market This Friday
The preliminary read on Consumer Sentiment for November comes out after the market opens today. It’s expected to tick up slightly to 71.0, but we note the Trump win here: the last time we were north of 100 on this metric was back in February of 2020 — directly prior to the Covid pandemic.
The survey for today’s report may have been sampled without a Trump victory baked in, but this is something investors should keep in mind for future Consumer Sentiment indexes. Then again, much will defer to conditions on the ground, and if this election was a referendum on anything, it was that non-urban America is unhappy with the course of things at present.
Also, Fed Governor Michelle Bowman will speak about the Fed’s latest rate cut yesterday. Last time around, Bowman was the only voting member to choose a 25 basis point (bps) rate cut instead of the 50 bps cut that passed.
In addition, the St. Louis Fed has a new President: Alberto Musalem will give his welcoming remarks today. He replaces Jim Bullard, who is stepping down as head of the St Louis Fed after 15 years on the job.
Finally, the Chinese government has announced a $1.4 trillion stimulus package to offset its flagging economy. A total of $840 billion (in U.S. currency) will be allotted to pay off “hidden” debt over three years for businesses in the country. An additional $560 billion special local bond quota over five years will backstop economic aspects elsewhere. Clearly these are measures designed to win back trust of outside investors.
Questions or comments about this article and/or author? Click here>>
Image: Bigstock
A Moment to Reflect on an Historic Trading Week
Friday, November 7, 2024
In this historic week — and it has been historic — we finally have a little respite, and time to reflect. Lots of companies continue to report earnings, but most of the marquee names are already in the books.
We also had two major questions entering this week, and we got answers to both of them: the General Election was decided with a Red Wave (depending on what happens in the House, which had been predicted to go to the GOP ahead of the election anyway) and the Fed did as most had assumed it would and reduced interest rates by another quarter point to +4.50-4.75% yesterday.
Pre-market futures are mixed but slipping at this hour: the Dow is up +18 points, but the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq are down -4 points and -53, respectively. This follows a relief rally, mostly due to election results, of roughly +4% among major indexes. The small-cap Russell 2000 is up nearly +8% over the past five trading days.
What to Expect in the Stock Market This Friday
The preliminary read on Consumer Sentiment for November comes out after the market opens today. It’s expected to tick up slightly to 71.0, but we note the Trump win here: the last time we were north of 100 on this metric was back in February of 2020 — directly prior to the Covid pandemic.
The survey for today’s report may have been sampled without a Trump victory baked in, but this is something investors should keep in mind for future Consumer Sentiment indexes. Then again, much will defer to conditions on the ground, and if this election was a referendum on anything, it was that non-urban America is unhappy with the course of things at present.
Also, Fed Governor Michelle Bowman will speak about the Fed’s latest rate cut yesterday. Last time around, Bowman was the only voting member to choose a 25 basis point (bps) rate cut instead of the 50 bps cut that passed.
In addition, the St. Louis Fed has a new President: Alberto Musalem will give his welcoming remarks today. He replaces Jim Bullard, who is stepping down as head of the St Louis Fed after 15 years on the job.
Finally, the Chinese government has announced a $1.4 trillion stimulus package to offset its flagging economy. A total of $840 billion (in U.S. currency) will be allotted to pay off “hidden” debt over three years for businesses in the country. An additional $560 billion special local bond quota over five years will backstop economic aspects elsewhere. Clearly these are measures designed to win back trust of outside investors.
Questions or comments about this article and/or author? Click here>>