Market Drama
Featuring Zoe CEO & Founder, Andres Garcia-Amaya, CFA
Welcome to this week’s Market Drama!
Stock Market Updates:
- S&P 500 and Nasdaq were both up by 1.5%, pushing them closer to a 20% YTD gain, nearing all-time highs.
- What drove market action?
- The Federal Reserve cut interest rates, but by more than the market anticipated: 50 basis points instead of the expected 25 basis points.
- This took the policy target range down to 4.75% to 5% from the previous 5.25% to 5.5% range.
- The updated Dot Plot shows what Federal Reserve members project for the path of interest rates.
- The Dot Plot suggests the Fed may ease rates by another 50 basis points, with 25 basis point cuts expected in November and December.
- The market is eyeing a “soft landing” scenario, where the Fed manages to lower interest rates without causing a recession—a scenario in which the stock market tends to perform well.
Economic Updates:
- The Commerce Department reported retail sales rose 0.1% MoM, higher than expected.
Next week:
- PCI inflation data for August.
- Core PCE is expected to be 2.7%.
Stay tuned for next week.
– Andres
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