Economy
There wasn't a lot of new economic data released this week to really move the needle one way or the other. According to the CME Group, the odds of just a 0.25% rate cut at November 7 FOMC meeting increased from 89% to 90%. Between now and November 7, there's one more report out that will gauge the health of the labor market, and that is the nonfarm payrolls data due out on November 1. Of course, there's an election between now and the 7th as well, but that will likely have little-to-no bearing on what the Fed is going to do when they meet. Unless something significant happens with the labor market between now and the 7th, we're likely to see another cut as the Fed brings rates down to a more neutral level.
Markets
The S&P 500 rose for the sixth consecutive week (the longest streak of the year) to close at a record high on Friday. Gaining 0.85% this week, the S&P is now nearly 23% higher than it was at the beginning of the year. We're now well underway into earnings season with about 15% of the companies that make up the S&P 500 having reported by now. Of those that have reported earnings, nearly 80% have been above their expected numbers, according to FactSet. With earnings season, there is no "good" or "bad" numbers, it's simply a matter of whether or not a company was "better" or "worse" than expected. With a lack of new economic data on deck until November 1, we'll see the market reacting to a busy couple of weeks of corporate earnings releases. This coming week, 114 S&P 500 companies will report, followed by another busy week with a handful of the "Magnificent 7" stocks.
What We're Reading
- US Data Centers Will Soon Hit Size Limits - Semafor
- Against the Odds - Jacob Schroeder
Have a great weekend.
Dogwood Wealth Management