Another day, another record for US equities | MarketTalk: What’s up today? | Swissquote

Show notes

Federal Reserve’s (Fed) Thomas Barkin’s words that suggested that the Fed could cut rates if recent progress inflation continues sent the Nasdaq 100 to a fresh record for the 3rd consecutive day and the S&P500 to a fresh ytd high and near an ATH record as well.
Yet, the latest FedEx results didn’t enchant investors yesterday. The company, which serves as a gauge of economic activity, missed expectations due to declining airfreight and trucking volumes. The stock price fell 7% after the closing bell.
On the data dock, the latest housing data in the US showed that housing starts jumped nearly 15% in November as the mortgage rates dipped from above 8% to below 7% thanks to a swift fall in US yields. That’s a good sign for economic health, but not necessarily for the future path of inflation. But the dollar didn’t react.
The Fed doves’ optimism is overdone given the strength of the underlying economic data, and the upside pressure on energy and shipping costs as the world’s leading energy and shipping companies have started avoiding Suez Canal due to Houthi attacks. The recent developments will start showing in the economic data in a few weeks and help investors assess the extent of global implications.
But as worries regarding the implications of developments in the Red Sea mount, latest inflation numbers from Europe and Britain give some respite.
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