May 26, 2023

Markets:

Stock futures rose slightly Friday as investors kept an eye on Washington for signs of progress on debt ceiling negotiations.

House Speaker Kevin McCarthy left the Capitol Thursday night saying a deal had not been reached yet. However, sources told CNBC that the White House and McCarthy are close to reaching an agreement that would raise the U.S. debt ceiling for two years.

Investors will watch Friday for a crop of new economic data, with specific attention on personal consumer expenditures given its association with the path of inflation. Data on personal income, consumer spending and sentiment and durable goods is also due in the morning. The central bank’s preferred measurement of inflation, the personal consumption expenditures index, is slated for release on Friday morning.

Though the consumer price index is the metric that people are most familiar with to measure inflation, the Fed prefers the PCE when it draws up economic projections. For starters, the PCE reflects consumers’ substitutions for goods and services. It also features more comprehensive coverage of goods and services, and historical data can be revised, according to James Bullard, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

Portfolio:

We enter the last trading session of the week holding set-ups in ASX, ARRY, and NU.  WE might add today depending on price activity but we are headed into a long holiday weekend here and we are a bit weary on the volume and might choose to wait until early next week before firing off a new set-up.  We'll be watching closely, be ready, and let us be the first to wish everyone a wonderful holiday weekend.