August 16, 2023

Markets:

Stock futures are near flat Wednesday as traders awaited the release of the minutes from the Federal Reserve’s July meeting minutes. Wall Street was coming off a losing session that marked the latest leg down in an August slump.

The Fed is slated post the minutes from its July meeting at 2 p.m. ET. Back then, the central bank raised rates to their highest levels in more than 22 years.

Investors will also watch for economic data on housing, industrial production and capacity utilization.

Additionally, economic news out of China weighed on investor sentiment. Retail sales and industrial production both grew less than economists expected, according to data released Tuesday. The country’s central bank also issued an interest rate cut.

U.S. Treasury yields stumbled on Wednesday as investors looked ahead to the release of the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting minutes, which could provide fresh clues about interest rate policy, and considered the latest inflation data from the U.K.

Portfolio:

We enter todays session, FOMC day, holding setups in IONQ, NNDM, HPE, TSLL, CVE, and IQ. Monster day technically and really all that matters for short term direction. Break it lower to 4350 or we hold and bounce. Will tech lead us now and help the S&P bounce back above the 50? We shall see but there is absolutely no reason to front run any of this. They're draining both sides of the trade over the last two weeks. Would it surprise anyone to see a monster close to the day today and flip it technically for the S&P? All the matters is what's to come after Labor Day and the opportunity.  Be ready and stay patient here.