(As of 7:20 am PST)
Stocks have opened flat today
in the wake of yesterday’s Fed announcement and some fresh economic news. The
Fed announced yesterday that they would leave interest rates unchanged while
indicating that they would only raise rates twice this year. After the announcement
yesterday, the markets posted a late day rally which sent the Dow into the
close for its fourth consecutive day of gains. The dollar took a major hit
after the announcement and is getting crushed again today. The slumping dollar
is helping commodity prices across the board with gold up nearly 3% today and
oil closing in on $40 per barrel. Many experts don’t think the Fed’s move
is doing the markets any favors. Their dovish tone has left investors uncertain
about the state of the economy. There were some good signs on the economic
reporting front today. Weekly jobless claims rose by 7,000 to 265,000 but the
rate of layoffs is still very low. Additionally, a reading of the manufacturing
activity in Philadelphia area turned positive in March after being negative for
the past seven months. Europe had a tough day across the board overnight and
results in Asia were mixed. The next wave of news that investors will be
setting their eyes on is earnings season which unofficially begins early next
month.
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