Friends

As expected, the Fed did not change interest rates today, but they did change the rate of run off of their balance sheet. In other words, they lightened up a little bit on their quantitative tightening process leaving more liquidity in the system on a monthly basis than they have been doing in recent months. I think that’s what got the attention of market participants and sent stocks higher and bond yields lower. Other than that, the Fed Chair basically said that they will be patient and cautious with regards to rate cuts as the year unfolds. They still anticipate 2 rate cuts this year, but of course we will see.

As for today, by the close the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 383 points to finish the day at 41,964. The S&P 500 was up 60 points to close at 5,675. The Nasdaq Composite Index was up 246 points to close at 17,750. Gold was up $15 to trade at $3,056 per ounce, while oil was up $.38 to trade at $67.28 per barrel WTI.

We’ll see if today’s action might spark a rally into quarter end as institutional investors rebalance their portfolios. That will lead us into first quarter earnings results and that might be difficult to navigate for investors. First things first let’s get this week behind us and then the final leg of the first quarter.

Have a nice evening everyone.

Jim