Wall Street closes out weak February as Fed concerns remain

Both the S&P and Nasdaq were having an okay day until 2 pm when it all went south. The Dow didn’t fare as well, being south all day some hundred points again, like the others, until 2 pm, when it too went crashing further down. Per today’s expert, “The market in many ways expected things to go south more quickly, forcing the Fed to pivot, or pause, or cut rates sooner than the Fed was saying.”  In other words, the economy continues to do too well which does not bode well for easing up on rates.  

Stocks close slightly up after prior week's selloff

The markets all got started with a big bang, the Dow up almost 400 points at 10 a.m., as Treasury yields eased off. But then the yields started steadily climbing again and the indexes all started steadily falling again with all closing with modest gains but nowhere near the morning highs. As always, the sell off was attributed to fears over rate hikes with today’s expert, “is a 50-basis point hike really on the table; it’s led to a good deal of uncertainty.” Traders have priced in 3 more ¼ pt. hikes this year and a new peak rate at 5.4%, up from 5.35 last week. The good news is that new orders have picked up and business spending on equipment increasing. As has been the trend, volume remains below average at 9.9 billion. 

10 Best Growth Stocks to Buy for 2023

Continuing on the weekend themes of top stock recommendations, here's another list of suggestions.  

Bill Gates Portfolio: 7 Best Stocks to Buy Now

And yet another of the world's most successful billionaires with portfolios well worth examining.  

Wall St ends sharply down, posts biggest weekly drop of 2023

All the indexes were deeply in the red all day, the Dow starting some 500 points down and didn’t really improve a lot all day, rising a bit late in session to close 336 down.  It again boils down to fear over continued rate hikes, today’s dive attributed to both a CPI report, considered the Fed’s main barometer, showing a 0.6% gain in prices in January vs 0.2% in December.  This combined with more hawkish comments from the Fed that rates should go higher than necessary to meet the inflation target, which the futures traders have now raised to a possible 5.5%  vs the prior 5.35%.  Volume remains below average at 10.3 billion. 

Wall St finishes topsy-turvy day higher, S&P snaps losing run

It was a seesaw day for the whole market with all the indexes in the black in the morning, then dipping big time into losses for most of the rest of the session only to recover after 2 pm and closing in the black.  The Dow opened up some 250 points and almost immediately began a decline losing some 500 points by noon where it stayed until 2 pm, then recovered to a 108 point gain at close.  

S&P ends down as Fed minutes fail to halt losing run

The news from the Fed minutes contained no surprises and more reassurances that most officials agreed to slow rate increases to ¼ point until inflation was under control.  This was enough good news to lift all the indexes for most of the day, the Dow being up some 120 points until 2 pm when everything went on the decline again with both the Dow and S&P ending modestly down, the Nasdaq modestly up. But though the news was mostly positive, it was yet another nail in the coffin that the rate hiking campaign would continue despite recession risks.  Volume remained below average at 10.58 billion. 

Wall St posts worst day of 2023 on higher-for-longer rate fears

Last week’s fretting over future rate hikes spilled over big time today with the Dow opening over 125 points down and just kept going further south all day.  It was the worst market day of the year and it was all due to even more reports about our resilient and rebounding economy, something that in ordinary times would have caused a big rally but in these times just causes panic about the Fed going “higher for longer.”  

10 Stocks Warren Buffett Just Bought and Sold

Continuing on this theme for Presidents Day weekend, today I submit the list of the latest transactions from Berkshire Hathaway, a company with a mere $686 billion under management.  Do we think we can learn something from this guy?  

Billionaire George Soros' 7 Top Stock Picks

I don't know how any of you feel about George Soros.  He has been both lionized and vilified. Nonetheless, he is right up there with Warren Buffett as one of history's top investors so it is worth making note of the top 7 stocks in his portfolio.  Enjoy Presidents Day tomorrow.  

Don't Fight the Fed

Consuelo Mack continues her series on the Fed with this week's interview with the former Fed  Vice Chair Richard Clarida.  Contrary to a former segment with Paul Volcker criticizing the 2% inflation target, Clarida defends it discussing the Fed's tightening and the prospects for recession.  Enjoy this balmy weekend.   

S&P 500 ends down as investors fret about interest rates

As has been the trend lately, it was yet another volatile day with all the indexes spending until about 1 pm deeply in the red, the Dow down some 180 points in the morning, but then beginning a rebound and close to a full recovery but not quite as both the S&P and Nasdaq still closed in the red, the Dow the sole gainer with a +129 points. Again, it was rate hike worries with both Goldman Sachs and BofA upping their estimates to 3 hikes for the year vs the prior forecast of 2.  

Wall Street ends down sharply as data fuels rate-hike worries

Today was a repeat of yesterday with all the indexes opening way down, the Dow down some 400 points by 10 a.m., then like yesterday the whole market began to rise again until 3 pm when everything came crashing down and all went deeply into the red. Once again, inflation reports showed producer prices at a 7 month high, a low unemployment report showing the job market remains tight despite the inflation, and more hawkish commentary from the Fed that more rate hikes may well be coming, even a ½ point hike that may be coming in May.  The Fed’s goal is seen as 5% rates by May to be held until year-end though Fed officials believe that the hikes are slowing inflation even with the growth.  Volume remains light at 11 billion. 

S&P 500 ends higher after strong retail sales data

Except for the Nasdaq, everything was in the red today for almost the entire day, the Dow down some 250 points in the morning and despite a continuous rise throughout session, did not finally ascend into positive territory until the last few minutes.  After the big a.m. dive, the slow but steady recovery was triggered mainly by a much better than estimated retail sales report which came in at a 3% surge for January vs a 1.8% estimate due to aggressive car sales among other goods.  Q4 earnings are now at 70% beating estimates vs the historical average of 66.  The S&P has now climbed 8% in 2023, the Nasdaq 15.  Volume remains light at 10.5 billion. 

Wall Street ends mixed as inflation data supports rate worries

Today’s CPI report, showing that inflation was still high even if it was slowing, did not allay concerns of the Fed easing up on the rate hikes.  So the Dow fell over 400 points by noon before rebounding by 1 pm to the level it stayed at to close down 156.  The other indexes followed a similar pattern. So rate hike fears explain the crash and the rebound was seemingly in anticipation of better news tomorrow with retail sales data.  The S&P has so far recouped 8% this year, the Nasdaq 14.  What’s odd was that the rate-sensitive Nasdaq is the only index that closed in positive territory. 69% of the S&P has now beaten estimates with Q4 earnings expected to fall 2.8% vs 3.0% last week.  Volume remains light at 10.7 billion. 

Wall Street ends sharply higher as investors eye inflation data

With the indexes taking such a big hit last week (some would say vastly oversold) over Fed inflation comments, Monday saw the opposite direction kick in with the indexes taking a rather large shot straight up obviously in anticipation that tomorrow’s inflation numbers will be very encouraging. The S&P has gained 8% so far this year  but remains about 14% below the January 2022 high. Possibly awaiting Tuesday’s inflation data, volume was quite light at 9.5 billion. 

Top Stocks to Buy in 11 Different Sectors

 Yet another list of top stocks to buy.  

7 Best Vanguard Funds to Buy and Hold

For those of you who like Vanguard, which so many of the DIY investors do, here's their latest and greatest. 

Nasdaq ends lower as Treasury yields rise, Lyft plunges

It was another very volatile but unusual day with the S&P wildly back and forth between red and black all day, the Nasdaq equally wild but in the red all day, and the Dow also wildly up and down but in the black all day. After yesterday’s rising yields on 30-year bonds kept investors away from equities, today the 10-year bonds followed suit with its highest yield in a month leading today’s expert to wonder “what the bond market is telling us that the economic indicators are not.”  

Wall St dips as Treasury yields rise after auction

On the good news inflation-wise that the unemployment had been previously understated and added another 13,000 to the total putting it over estimate, the Dow opened some 300 points up, but then began an almost immediate descent on the news that the sale of 30-year notes was weak thus pushing up the yields, thus making them more competitive with equities. The poor performance of the bonds auction drove the index down over 600 points to close the session out 249 in the red. Volume was below average at 11.49 billion. 

Wall St falls after recent strong gains, Alphabet shares sink

It did seem strange that we had this rally yesterday when the Fed actually confirmed that more rate hikes were coming. Or maybe it was just a delayed reaction as today the market took a dive, the Dow opening just few points above the prior close but then dipping twice about 250 points down before a final modest late session upswing to close down 207.  The market seemed to decide today that Powell’s comments that the 2% inflation target “might be a long fight” was now something to be concerned about.  

Wall Street rallies but trade choppy as investors digest Powell comments

It was another very volatile day with the Dow swinging back and forth in a 600-point range, down some 250 points as late as 2 pm before starting its second big rally for the day to close up 265. The rationale was a bit murky (as it often is) since yesterday’s selloff was due to fears of continued rate hikes pending today’s comments from Fed Chair Powell.  And Powell did not really say anything to allay such fears, in fact confirmed that more rate hikes were certainly coming and that “they’re not going to be cutting rates anytime soon.”  

Wall St ends down as investors await Fed's next steps

The uncertainty created by the stellar jobs report vis-à-vis the Fed continued today with the Dow down some 200 points in the morning but then jogging back and forth to finally close 34 points down. All eyes will be on Chairman Powell’s speech tomorrow to see if he remains dovish or reverts to the hawkish stance that has been prevalent for a year now. Yellen commented today that a recession may be avoided and Q4 earnings are expected to decline 2.8%, a little better than the 3% earlier but a far cry from the 1.6% predicted January 1^st.  As could be expected, with all the sectors being down, the two that weren’t were the defensive sectors of utilities and consumer staples.  Volume was a little below average at 11.17 billion. 

Protect Your Portfolio With Defensive Stocks

Yesterday I submitted a list of the high flying stocks for 2023. To close out the weekend, I submit the other side of the coin, courtesy of AAII, with some of the lower flying stocks to invest in as a hedge, that wonderful class of equities known as defensive stocks.  Hope everyone had a great weekend.  

2023's 10 Best-Performing Stocks

The latest recommendations from U.S. News Invested concerning the best stock  buys for the coming year.  

Wall Street ends down after stunning jobs growth raises Fed questions

Though every index opened in the red, they kept bouncing back and forth as the megacap Q4 reports rolled in, some positive, some negative. Then suddenly at 12:30 all three indexes came crashing down and the only logical trigger was the very surprising employment report which came in astonishingly at nearly triple the estimate with 517,000 new jobs bringing the unemployment rate to a 53 year low. This would ordinarily be taken as ebullient news but these are not ordinary times. 

Nasdaq, S&P 500 post strong gains on Fed relief, Meta surge

The Dow had a particularly rocky day being up and down all session long, down some 250 as late as 3 p.m.  In fact, all the indexes took a big plunge right around 2 p.m. but the Nasdaq and S&P were at least in positive territory all day, the Nasdaq especially as enthusiasm for the big tech stocks has skyrocketed with the recent news of rate hikes starting to temper. As today's expert put it, “Fed comments really encouraged investors to go risk-on.  The Fed’s comments were unexpected.”  So at least the megacap stocks were still riding the euphoric wave begun yesterday and the S&P moved above the 200-day moving average, often taken as a bullish signal.  Labor data is due tomorrow.  Volume was way above average at 15 billion. 

Wall St rallies as Fed's Powell nods to easing inflation after rate hike

The Dow almost 500 points down as late as 2:30 p.m., then zooming up huge to break-even by close.  The S&P down about 40, the Nasdaq about 80, then zooming up dramatically after 2:30 p.m. to 3-digit gains.  So what happened at 2:30 p.m.? That must have been when Powell made his announcement; and though it was for the expected ¼ point rate hike, investors took great solace in what he didn’t say.