And with that, 2019 is in the books. Thanks to the New Year’s Day holiday, market closures and early cut-off times, this week continued the holiday trend of low volume and insignificant moves. Traders were focusing on the future and whether or not the U.S. economy could continue its pace of gains over the next few months. While volumes were low, there was important information released during the week, including a hefty amount of economic data.
This week traders received important manufacturing, housing and inflation data as well as the latest from the Federal Reserve. While the release of the FOMC meeting minutes usually causes a stir, the latest announcement was relatively muted. Given the Fed’s already indicated stance of pausing rate cuts while the economy heals and grows, most traders brushed off the news.
A lack of earnings during the week also helped keep surges and trading volumes in check.
All in all, traders eased into the new year and managed to move stocks higher to close out 2019.
Be sure to check out our previous Wrap here, when the Federal Reserve gave investors what they wanted.
