FED Chair Jerome Powell didn’t do the markets any favors this week when he announced Wednesday that the FED would be adding two rate hikes to its 2023 forecast and increasing its inflation projection for the year.
As a direct result of these comments, the markets began to slide… Falling Friday and causing the DOW to have one of its worst weeks since January of this year.
On market health at this moment in time, as reported by CNBC,
- The blue-chip average has dropped 413 points, bringing its week-to-date losses to 3.1%.
- The S&P 500 has fallen 0.9%, pushing its loss this week to more than 1.5%.
- The tech-heavy NASDAQ Composite has dipped 0.7%.
The Tide Begins to Turn…
This faltering in the market comes as a drastic turn in events after mainly a long string of wins and a week of mostly positive market action for many and one can’t help but turn to the recent comments of FED poster boy Jerome Powell as the leading culprit of this most recent dip.
During his comments, Powell noted that the FED would continue to hold its benchmark interest rates near zero and maintain its bond-buying program at a pace of $120 billion per month for the time being but noted the FED’s plan to move up the forecast for the first-rate hike to 2023 from the previously projected date of 2024.
Despite Mr. Powell’s comments, however, St. Louis FED President James Bullard recently told reporters a rate hike could, in fact, come as early as 2022, ahead of the FED’s new 2023 target date.
Adding to his list of good news, when discussing the subject of bonds, Mr. Powell commented on Wednesday that officials have suggested tapering bond buying and would at some point most likely begin slowing the asset purchases.
Learn More Here…
Despite this turn in the markets, followers of DTI should still have plenty to celebrate as we head into the weekend as DTI founder and head trader Tom Busby managed to make some great calls this week! Join Tom below as he sits down with the rest of the Ask the Pros roundtable to discuss this week’s markets and their projections for the days ahead.
P.S. – Join market pro Jack Carter’s most recent FREE WORKSHOP to discover how this former hedge fund manager is able to harness an incredible market force to consistently pick high-probability stocks every week!