The S&P 500 was lower by 1.39% and the Dow was off by 1.35%. Stocks were modestly lower in very quite trading prior to today’s FOMC meeting and commentary afterwards by Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke.
Resource analyst John Kaiser says that if there isn’t a turnaround in the price of gold and other commodities in the next 2-3 years, the western mining industry faces a serious crisis.
I do not expect China to slip silently away. It is here to stay, and it will be bigger and more dynamic in the future, but the transition from an economy driven by investment and massive debt into one more soundly based on domestic consumption will not be easy.
The June 2013 Consumer Price Index for Urban Consumers (CPI-U) released today puts the May year-over-year inflation rate at 1.36%, dramatically below the 3.91% average since the end of the Second World War and over a full percent lower than its 10-year moving average.
I have seen others write about the reduced demand for oil. That’s about as accurate as “Innocent until proven guilty.”
New housing construction in the US has increased substantially since the lows of the Great Recession, but remains near pre-recession lows.
Jim Puplava comments on what he sees as the bright spots within the American economy and the effects of growth in domestic energy markets.
The market is short-term bullish given that ultra-short-term indicators just hit climactic readings as price is starting to come out of a bottom, and there was the execution of the bullish double-bottom pattern. The apple cart could be upset if the Fed announces tapering or ending its bond buying program tomorrow after its meeting.
The S&P 500 closed up 0.78% and the Dow was higher by 0.91%. Higher beta stocks outperformed safety and the advance was broad based today. The most frequently cited “reason” for the advance was that the Fed Chairman was going to not be hawkish regarding QE tomorrow.
The backdrop for today’s market action is the start of the countdown to the Fed announcement and Bernanke news conference on Wednesday afternoon as the two-day FOMC meeting gets underway today.
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