Markets pulled back this week as volatility increased. Will markets come home for Christmas or will Scrooge get in the way?
Monday S&P 500 0.38% | NASDAQ 1.24%
Markets started the week in the positive, with most gains noted in the NASDAQ. The weekly economic calendar will be hyper-focused on the decision and commentary of the Federal Reserve on the trajectory of rate cuts.
Tuesday S&P 500 -0.39% | NASDAQ -0.32%
Volatility measures picked up on Tuesday as results came in for retail sales. The consumer continues to drive the economic engine during the holidays and data from black Friday showed no slowing down.
Wednesday S&P 500 -2.95% | NASDAQ -3.56%
Markets tumbled following the press conference by the Federal Reserve as the policy stance has changed from a quickened pace of rate cuts to a more measured, slower pace as data is assessed in the new year. The VIX (volatility index) jumped 74% as rates were cut .25%.
Thursday S&P 500 -0.09% | NASDAQ -0.10%
Markets stabilized following the sell-off on Wednesday. The goal is to get inflation down to 2% which may take longer than originally thought. GDP for Q3 grew from Q2, which is likely the reason for a more cautious approach to rate cuts moving forward.
Friday S&P 500 1.09% | NASDAQ 1.03%
Consumer sentiment data flattened but markets saw the opportunity to buy the dip on Friday. Strong economic forecasts reflected an appetite to keep equity markets strong going into the last week of trading for the year.
Conclusion S&P 500 -1.99% | NASDAQ -1.78%
Markets were not so jolly this week as the sell-off put a sizable dent in the last few weeks of growth. The Federal Reserve’s hawkish stance on monetary policy going into 2025 proved to be the biggest deflator of optimism as markets attempt to finish the year strong. A higher rate environment indicates that there is work to be done on inflation and there is no rush to cut rates more aggressively at the expense of price increases. The Federal Reserve gave the markets what they expected and that was a gift of a .25% rate cut for a total of 1% for 2024. We often see the rally at the end of the year but there might be less presents underneath the Christmas tree this year. We will see if we get one more rally to finish things off going into 2025.
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