September 9, 2022

Markets:

U.S. stock futures rose Friday following a choppy trading session as traders considered Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell’s latest comments on inflation.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 193 points, or 0.61%, during the regular session on Thursday — closing higher after alternating between gains and losses throughout the day. The S&P 500 rose 0.66%, and the Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.60%.

Those gains put all three major averages on pace to snap a three-week losing streak. Through Thursday, the Dow is up 1.45%. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 is up 2.09%, and the Nasdaq Composite is 1.99% higher.

Stocks have been volatile recently as expectations of a 0.75 percentage point rate hike this month grew on Wall Street, after the Fed chair said again that he is “strongly committed” to bringing down inflation.

Bitcoin jumped almost 9% early Friday to above $21,000, after it fell earlier in the week below $19,000, its lowest level since June. The surge coincided with a rally in stock futures. Bitcoin has become a macro-driven asset and its correlation with stocks is the highest it’s ever been.

Oil prices rose on Friday as traders weighed Russia’s threat to halt energy exports, and central banks’ aggressive rate hikes.

Brent crude futures climbed 0.34% to stand at $89.45 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate added 0.17% to $83.68 per barrel.

Portfolio:

Markets have been extremely volatile over the last two weeks with Traders anticipating up to a .75 percentage point rate hike this month. With the floor being set, stocks now are looking to regain their footing. As we stated last Friday, do not get caught too much with the bearish tone and price activity and be patient allowing this to materialize. We wanted to wait for volume to return after Labor Day – which it's begun too – and now traders are setting a floor which will provide us a path now toward smid-terms and end of year trade set-ups. We have always enjoyed this time of year, perhaps our favorite time of the year, as so many set-ups come into play. The excitement for the next several months should be sky high for the potential this market will provide us. However, it's Friday and last day of shortened trading week. The key for us short term; price activity on Monday / Tuesday. Just stay patient and let's continue to pinpoint opportunities for the next month. Be ready today and let's have a great session.