February 17, 2022

Markets:

U.S. stock futures dipped in pre-market trading Thursday as investors continued to weigh new insight into the Federal Reserve's plans to tighten monetary policy and persisting geopolitical tensions between Russia and Ukraine. Traders also await another trove of corporate results scheduled to trickle in along with a fresh read on weekly unemployment filings.

Insight into the Fed’s last policy-setting meeting served as relief for investors who in recent weeks have grappled with the prospect central bank officials could scale up their hiking cycle on a string of recent red-hot inflation prints and stronger-than-expected jobs data.

On the economic data front, investors digested a fresh print on U.S. retail sales, which jumped more than expected in January to recover from a December drop, with spending across a broad range of sellers rebounding at the start of the year. Investors will tune in Thursday for economic snapshots out of Washington on housing and employment, with building starts, housing starts, and initial jobless claims on the itinerary, among a lineup of other reports.

Earnings will also be front and center, with companies including retail heavyweight Walmart (WMT) revealing fiscal fourth quart results, alongside reports from Shake Shack (SHAK), Roku (ROKU), and Dropbox (DBX), among others later in the day.

Portfolio:

We enter the new trading session holding positions in HUT, VTRS, SLV, PBR, NOV, and itrm.  We expect a potential choppy session to start.  We would not be surprised at all to see the market strong today at some point in the session.  We will continue to pinpoint opportunity.  Continue to be patient with your trading and allow this trend line to materialize, the markets are working through it.  Let's have a great session.