Week of January 7th Stock Market Watch
Stocks closed their first week of 2019 in positive territory. However, they needed a heroic effort, in which they got on Friday, with the Dow rising 746 points and the Nasdaq surging by 275 points.
The catalyst?
The Fed, of course. In an interview on Friday, Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, said the Fed will remain patient regarding further rate hikes.
Despite the positive news. There is still uncertainty in the market. For example, the government is still shut down.
Source: twitter
Also, the market is concerned about how trade talks between the US and China turn out. A trade war could weaken markets, while a resolution could lift them higher.
That said, there seems to be less fear in the market, thanks to Powell’s interview. The VIX closed at 21.38 on Friday. That’s a drop of 24.5% from last week.
Here are how some of the most actively traded index ETFs performed over the week: SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY) +1.74%, iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) +3.56%, SPDR Dow Jones Industrial Average ETF (DIA) +1.31%, Invesco QQQ Trust (QQQ) +2.08%
Here are how some of the most actively traded commodity and interest rate ETFs performed: United States Oil Fund (USO) +5.82%, iShares 20+ Year Treasury Bond (TLT) +1.72%, SPDR Gold Shares (GLD) +0.72%
Economic Releases:
8 Jan 2019- International Trade 8:30 AM ET
9 Jan 2019- EIA Petroleum Status Report 10:30 AM ET; FOMC Minutes 2:00 PM ET
10 Jan 2019- Jobless Claims 8:30 AM ET; Jerome Powell Speaks 12:45 PM ET
11 Jan 2019- CPI 8:30 AM ET
Key Earnings:
7 Jan 2019- JAGX
8 Jan 2019- HELE, AZZ, LNN, SGH
9 Jan 2019- AYI, GBX, LEN, MSM, STZ, SCHN, BBBY, FC, KBH, PSMT
10 Jan 2019- DAL, FCEL, SNX
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