March 2, 2022

Markets:

Stock futures rose on Wednesday to recover some steep losses from earlier this week, with jitters over Russia's war in Ukraine and its implications for the global economy weighing on risk assets.

Amid the ongoing geopolitical concerns, energy prices climbed, and West Texas intermediate crude oil prices rocketed further above $100 per barrel. This came even after the International Energy Agency agreed to release 60 million barrels from global stockpiles to help ease pressure in the already-tight energy market.

Still, the uncertainty generated by the war and the potential for higher global energy prices have left investors betting the Federal Reserve will eschew an ultra-hawkish tilt after its March monetary policy meeting. Fed Chair Jerome Powell is set to testify before Congress on Wednesday starting at 10 a.m. ET as part of his semi-annual appearance before lawmakers, offering what will likely be the Fed leader's first public remarks on how the geopolitical situation has informed the central bank's thinking on interest rate hikes and monetary policy tightening for the rest of the year.

ADP said Wednesday that private payrolls grew by 475,000 in February, coming in 100,000 greater than consensus economists were expecting, based on Bloomberg data.

Portfolio:

We enter the new trading session holding positions in AEHR, ACH, PENN, and ITRM.  We will be looking to add to our holdings today but want to be cautious as Fed Chair Jerome Powell will be testifying before congress beginning at 10am.  We expect a session of swings, but opportunity continues to be created.  We are just trying to be cautious as we wanted to get past the State Of The Union address as well as the Fed Chairs testimony today.  Let's have a great session.