Market Drama
Featuring Zoe CEO & Founder, Andres Garcia-Amaya, CFA
Watch Time: 3.7 minutes
Welcome to this week’s Market Drama!
Stock Market Updates
- The S&P 500 was down 2% for the week. Up 23% YTD.
- Nasdaq was down even more, down 3%. Up 24.4% YTD.
Economic Updates:
- October Consumer Price Index (CPI) came in at 2.6%.
- Core CPI (which excludes food and energy) was 3.3%, as expected.
- Despite a resilient U.S. economy, comments from Federal Reserve Chairman suggest they may not lower interest rates as quickly as previously anticipated.
- The market expects three more rate cuts to bring the federal funds rate down to 4%.
- Consumer Balance Sheet:
- Consumer debt has increased, but wages have been growing faster than inflation, and both housing prices and the broader market have been performing well.
- It’s important to consider not just debt but also assets and discretionary income when evaluating the overall financial health of consumers.
- Overall, consumer balance sheets are in strong shape, especially when compared to the Great Recession (2006-2007).
- Discretionary income is currently around 11%, lower than the 13% seen in 2006-2007.
Stay tuned for next week.
– Andres
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