August 21, 2024

Markets:

Stock futures little changed Wednesday as traders looked ahead to minutes from the Federal Reserve’s latest policy meeting — seeking further insight into the prospect of an interest rate cut.

Target jumped more than 14% in premarket trading after reporting earnings for the fiscal second quarter that exceeded Wall Street’s expectations. But fellow retailer Macy’s dropped more than 8% on a lowered full-year sales forecast.

Stocks are coming off a losing session, with both the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite snapping their longest winning streaks since late 2023. The broad-market S&P 500 dipped 0.2%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq slid 0.33%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 0.15%.

Tuesday’s moves follow a rocky period for stocks after a weak U.S. jobs report and an interest rate hike from the Bank of Japan sparked a global sell-off on Aug. 5. That day, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) spiked to its highest level since the pandemic-era market plunge in 2020. Equities have bounced back since the market turmoil, with strong retail sales and a weaker-than-expected inflation report helping alleviate recession fears last week.

Along with minutes from the Fed’s July meeting, Wall Street anxiously awaits commentary from central bank leader Jerome Powell. The Fed chair is expected to deliver remarks Friday at the Jackson Hole Economic Symposium, where he could provide further clues into the Fed’s next rate decision at its September gathering.

Portfolio:

Yesterday was a snoozer to say the least but expected and healthy!  As we stated in yesterdays pre-market we would rather see us base a bit into mintues / Powell on Friday rather than ramping into it.  A few majors stocks had healthy price action yesterday which is super positive.  Stocks made a super comeback and up about 9 trading sessions.  Coming down yesterday into the Fed -.20% is OK!  Also, love the price action taking place in semi's and large upside call lots coming in.  This sector, one of our favorites to trade over the last year, is gearing up again!  Be ready for it.  

We did manage to add one new trade yesterday with ASTS on that pullback. We also booked a solid profit in SIRI as well. We still hold set-ups in TSLL, ZETA, and NIO.  Be patient today into the minutes and always immediately right after.  Do not chase that initial move, allow it to stabalzie an then we proceed.