Marketbites: Widely Expected Rate Hike From Powell
MARKET PERFORMANCE:
Portfolio Manager Commentary:
Stocks tumbled yesterday as the Federal Reserve persisted with hiking rates, while at the same time acknowledging turmoil in the banking sector could slow the already fragile economy. Regional bank shares led the slide.
The Fed raised rates by 25 basis points, which was widely expected. In a statement, the Fed's policymaking committee said it "will closely monitor incoming information and assess the implications for monetary policy." On the bullish side, the latest Fed projections called for just one more hike this year. But, Chair Jerome Powell said in the news conference that the inflation fight is far from over.
“Financial conditions seem to have tightened,” Fed Chair Jerome Powell noted. “We’ll be looking to see how serious is this and does it look like it’s going to be sustained. And if it is, it could easily have a significant macroeconomic effect, and we would factor that into our policy decisions,” he added.
Chart of the Day:
As the FAANG era appears to have come to a close, the U.S. market is now being dominated by Apple and Microsoft. The combined weighting of Apple and Microsoft in the S&P 500 has risen to 13.3%, the highest level on record, while the influence of other big technology stocks has waned of late. That is according to Strategas Securities data going back to 1990. Not since International Business Machines (IBM) and AT&T in 1978 have two stocks made up a greater share of the benchmark.
Source: WSJ
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