Fed Not Behind the Curve

Monday, stocks fell 0.6% in Asia, fell slightly in Europe, and rose slightly in the U.S. on high volume. This was enough for the Dow and S&P to log another new record closing highs. It also set the unprecedented record of twelve straight closing highs for the Dow. The 10-Year U.S. Treasury Bond yield gained 2% to close at 2.37 while precious metals lost 1% and their miners fell seven times that amount.

Tuesday, stocks fell slightly in Asia, rose slightly in Europe, and fell 0.4% in the U.S. on high volume. Traders tried to anticipate the effects of President Trump’s speech before a joint gathering of congress. This finally ended the streak of Dow record closing highs.

Wednesday, stocks fell slightly in Asia, but jumped up 1.5% in Europe and 1.3% in the U.S. high volume as optimism soared after President Trump’s speech. The major indices vaulted again to record closing highs with the Dow Jones Industrial Average closing well above the 21,000 mark. In a sure sign of euphoria, IBM closed over the 180 mark. The 10-Year U.S. Treasury Bond yield gained 4% to close at 2.46.

Thursday, stocks rose 0.3% in Asia, closed nearly unchanged in Europe, and fell 0.7% in the U.S. on high volume as March FOMC meeting interest rate hike probability soared as even Federal Reserve board doves admit this current ramp up in stock prices as a call to action. IBM held above 180 and the Dow closed just above the 21,000 benchmark. Precious metals lost 2%, their miners lost 4%, and juniors lost 8% as the recent carnage in this sector continued. Apparently, the only stocks prized by stock investors are things without intrinsic value. The IPO of Snapchat was a rousing success.

Friday, Asian stocks followed the U.S. sell-off and declined 0.8%, while changed little in Europe, and rose slightly in the U.S. on strong volume. The VXO dropped 16% to close at 10.08. Yellen’s speech leaned hawkish for her but in her usual non-committal way. Despite the roaring stock market and dismal economic data, she reported that the Fed is not behind the curve in their pace of raising interest rates.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *