(As of 7:15 am PST)
US stocks are higher to start the trading week as positive news abroad is helping to lift investor sentiment after a disappointing week last week. The Dow is up 175 points early, while the S&P500 and Nasdaq are also up nearly 1%. Wall Street is following international markets higher as central bank stimulus programs took center stage. The ECB enters the second week of its QE program with abundant liquidity propelling markets higher on Monday. China also pledged over the weekend to step up efforts to stimulate and sustain economic growth in the region if certain targets aren't met. The announcement sent Chinese stocks soaring. On the domestic front economic data is mixed. The main story for US markets will continue to be the timing and pace in which the Federal Reserve moves to raise short term interest rates. On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will release a statement from its two-day policy setting meeting. Investors will be on the lookout for if the Fed drops the word "patient" from its statement, a key reference to the timing of the Fed's rate hike. Expect markets to remain erratic in the short term as investors grapple with the implications of a Fed rate hike. As has been argued by strategists and economists, the more important issue may not be when the Fed hikes rates (already priced in?), but by how much. Stay tuned as we follow this story closely.
US stocks are higher to start the trading week as positive news abroad is helping to lift investor sentiment after a disappointing week last week. The Dow is up 175 points early, while the S&P500 and Nasdaq are also up nearly 1%. Wall Street is following international markets higher as central bank stimulus programs took center stage. The ECB enters the second week of its QE program with abundant liquidity propelling markets higher on Monday. China also pledged over the weekend to step up efforts to stimulate and sustain economic growth in the region if certain targets aren't met. The announcement sent Chinese stocks soaring. On the domestic front economic data is mixed. The main story for US markets will continue to be the timing and pace in which the Federal Reserve moves to raise short term interest rates. On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) will release a statement from its two-day policy setting meeting. Investors will be on the lookout for if the Fed drops the word "patient" from its statement, a key reference to the timing of the Fed's rate hike. Expect markets to remain erratic in the short term as investors grapple with the implications of a Fed rate hike. As has been argued by strategists and economists, the more important issue may not be when the Fed hikes rates (already priced in?), but by how much. Stay tuned as we follow this story closely.
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