After last week’s smooth ride, this week was a bit bumpier.
Volatility was the primary focus as investors sold expensive shares and watched the Federal Reserve carefully. The Fed’s latest missive on interest rates was seen as a major driver of the week’s returns as the move to increase benchmarks was telegraphed for weeks. However, with data starting to slip – including all the important inflation metrics – investors were starting to think that the Fed wouldn’t raise rates.
Speaking of data, this week saw a plethora of releases. All of which has begun to trend a little lower than previously recorded. This has given rise to the idea that the economy, while still good, isn’t as good as before.
Not helping was the lack of corporate earnings that could have propelled shares higher. With earnings season over, the number of stocks announcing profits was reduced to a trickle.
In the end, the week featured bumpy trading as several catalysts surfaced and traders’ moods ebbed and flowed.
Check out last week’s Market Wrap here.
Monday
Monday saw traders continuing to flee tech shares. Last Friday saw several reports from analysts questioning the sustained rally in technology firms and their overpriced valuations. The selling was swift and spilled over into Monday’s session. With tech’s commanding presence in the main indexes, stocks overall fell on the day. Gains in consumer names weren’t enough to pull up the indexes.
