A Surge And A Major Fade Ring in the New Year – The Market Breadth

Stock Market Commentary The strong end to 2021 mattered for just one day so far in 2022. Presumably fresh passive investments helped create a broad surge on the first day of the year. Wednesday’s release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s December meeting changed everything. Apparently, the Fed talk sounded a lot more hawkish … Read more

Stock Chart Reviews: Snapshots from A Manic Market

Stock Market Commentary In last week’s decision on monetary policy, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell directly and fully acknowledged inflationary pressures in the economy. Perhaps lost in the inflation buzz was Powell’s quick commentary on financial stability during the Q&A session: “…asset valuations are somewhat elevated, I would say.” Of course, various folks in the … Read more

A Manic Market Wrestles with the Fed – The Market Breadth

Stock Market Commentary The stock market wilted toward oversold territory ahead of the Federal Reserve’s latest pronouncements on monetary policy. However, the relief from hearing exactly what everyone expected was so large that the S&P 500 (SPY) gained 1.6% and almost hit a new all-time high. The move fooled a lot of people (see below). … Read more

J-Pow’s Hawkish Jawboning Sparked A Fresh Market Jolt – The Market Breadth

Stock Market Commentary Federal Reserve Chairman Jay Powell, aka “J-Pow”, finally decided the time has come to drop the descriptor “transitory” from America’s current experience with inflation (see the 37:00 mark in the video below). J-Pow even acknowledged that “it is therefore appropriate…to consider wrapping up the taper of asset purchases…perhaps a few months sooner” … Read more

J-Pow Sprinkles Just Enough Fairy Dust on the Stock Market – The Market Breadth

Stock Market Commentary Say whatever you want, Jerome (Jay) Powell, the chair of the Federal Reserve, affectionately known as J-Pow, has become a master orchestrator of the stock market. Other Federal Reserve Board members peppered the airwaves with hawkish talk about tapering and inflation in the days preceding Powell’s address at this year’s Jackson Hole, … Read more