After a dour holiday and shortened trading week, investors were ready to buy stocks during this week’s trading sessions. Stocks spent much of the week riding high as several key issues seemed to have been resolved.
For starters, trade has continued to dominate the headlines. But with a breakthrough on the Chinese-U.S. front, one of the market’s major risks could be finally ending. The same could be said for rising interest rates. Comments by Fed Chair Jerome Powell indicated that the Fed may be be turning dovish with its pace of rate hikes. These events alone made investors incredibly bullish this week.
Adding fuel to the equity fire was generally bullish data showing that the economy was still cooking.
Topping it off was light yet positive earnings reported by a series of stocks. Guidance remains a key sticking point, and this week, investors were pleased with the outlooks. All in all, better earnings, a Powell put and the trade discussion breakthrough managed to keep stocks rising.
Be sure to check out our previous week’s Wrap here, when the holidays brought more pain to portfolios.
