logo
ENع
#

Latest news with #FedDay

Stock Market Today: Waiting on the Fed
Stock Market Today: Waiting on the Fed

Miami Herald

time19 hours ago

  • Business
  • Miami Herald

Stock Market Today: Waiting on the Fed

Happy Fed Day! Will they or won't they? Actually, that's not really the question. The market is pricing in almost a 0% chance that the Federal Reserve moves on interest rates today. So, any move will be a huge surprise. The real question is what will the Fed say? About future moves, that is. Look for a statement from the Fed around 2 p.m. U.S. EDT today and a news conference with Chairman Jerome Powell 30 minutes morning's economic reports include initial jobless claims and housing starts. Jobless claims dropped to 245,000 for the week of June 14, below expectations of 251,000. While the beat is good, this is near the highest levels of the year and indicates a cooling job market. Housing starts were also below expectations, which in this case is not good. Starts were 1.26 million vs. a forecast of 1.36 million. Housing remains unaffordable for many Americans. So, how are markets reacting? Honestly, I think they're paying more attention to the Middle East and waiting for the Fed. Speaking of the Middle East, Iran's Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said that he will not surrender to Israel. So, investors should not expect a quick end to this conflict. Futures are modestly higher this morning. S&P 500 futures are up 0.12%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq is 0.2% higher. Bonds are rallying, too, although well off their highs of the day. The U.S. 10-year treasury note is up 0.04% and is priced to yield 4.38%. Crude oil continues tomarch higher on Middle East tensions. ThinkOrSwim Thought of the day: It's the reaction to news that matters. And when expected relationships change, it's important to understand why and what that means. Here, Timmer shows that typical "risk off" reactions to news have changed. The U.S. is looking less like the safe haven it has always been for investors. The Arena Media Brands, LLC THESTREET is a registered trademark of TheStreet, Inc.

Gold Price RECAP March 17-21
Gold Price RECAP March 17-21

Yahoo

time22-03-2025

  • Business
  • Yahoo

Gold Price RECAP March 17-21

Happy Friday, traders. Welcome to our weekly market wrap, where we take a look back at these last five trading days with a focus on the market news, economic data, and headlines that had the most impact on gold prices and other key correlated assets— and may continue to in the future. Gold prices are sliding intraday on Friday, but likely not enough to prevent the yellow metal's next consecutive week of gains and its first-ever weekly close above $3000/oz. Markets— especially those that, like gold, are typically sensitive to swings in investors' risk appetite— have learned to expect the unexpected since January 20. The back and forth and tit and tat of US trade/tariff policy initially brought a surge of volatility to most major assets, but with each iteration, investors and managers seem to have become more adept at treading water in between the extremes of being too sensitive to either the announcement of new trade duties into the world larger economy, or their reversal. This week, however, gold reached new all-time highs above $3000/oz thanks to a risk-off shock that markets had not anticipated. It didn't come from the midweek FOMC decision that investors had tabbed as a potential (if unlikely) flashpoint but from a sudden (re)escalation of conflict in the Middle East. First, it's worth touching on Wednesday's Fed announcements and projections. The best descriptor for the FOMC's overall delivery on Fed Day may be 'unbothered,' despite the up-and-down of many macroeconomic indicators over the last month. In the committee's statement and in Chair Jerome Powell's post-meeting Q&A, the Fed reasserted its confidence in a plan to cut rates twice in 2025, and that there is time and space to 'wait and see' the ultimate impact of the Trump Administration's tariffs before deciding on any reactive shifts. The updated Staff Economic Projections hinted at a little more to worry about, shifting estimates for inflation higher and US economic growth lower. Although Powell's comments focused on plans remaining unchanged, many Fed watchers and analysts read a dovish slant into it. In a vacuum, this could have been expected to spur a new leg in gold's 2025 rally. But thanks to an aggressive climb higher earlier in the week, the yellow metal was much less reactive to the news. The real gold market mover this week came from the Middle East. Monday's trading had shown gold to be testing resistance at $3000/oz without a great deal of enthusiasm, but when news broke Monday night of Israeli forces launching a new attack on Gaza, viscerally breaking the two-month truce, the shock and ripples of geopolitical instability saw investor risk-aversion plummet across the financial market. Gold spot prices, as a result, sliced upwards through $3000 like tissue paper. Ahead of Fed Day, the yellow metal topped out at $3045/oz. Despite the tepid reaction to the FOMC during US trading, the overnight Asian sessions drove spot gold to the true weekly high a few dollars richer, but investors showed little appetite for buying at or above $3050, and on Friday, we're seeing a mild sell-off, as traders take profits from the new all-time highs. How sustainable the pricing is above $3000 will be a key question as we kick off next week's trading with a relatively light macroeconomic data calendar that culminates with the release of new PCE Price Index data, the 'Fed-preferred' metrics for US inflation. In the meantime, traders, I hope you can get out and safely enjoy your weekend for the next couple of days. After that, I'll see you back here next week for another market recap. Sign in to access your portfolio

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store