What happened last week…
Former President Donald Trump will become the 47th President of the United States, defeating current Vice President Kamala Harris in the November 5th election.
The day after the election the stock market rallied with the three major indices performances as follows: DJIA (3.57%), S&P 500 (2.53%), NASDAQ (2.95%). Weekly performances were: DJIA (4.61%), S&P 500 (4.66%), NASDAQ (5.74%). Both the DJIA and the S&P 500 had their best weekly performances since November 2023.
The Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) lowered interest rates by 25 basis points, as expected, to a new range of 4.50% to 4.75%. The vote was unanimous. According to its statement, “The Committee judges that the risks to achieving its employment and inflation goals are roughly in balance.” Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said, “This further recalibration of our policy stance will help maintain the strength of the economy and the labor market and will continue to enable further progress on inflation as we move towards a more neutral stance.” Regarding the result of the presidential election and any potential influence on Fed policy, Powell said, “In the near term, the election will have no effect on our policy decisions.” The next and final FOMC meeting of the year will take place on December 17-18. According to the CME FedWatch Tool, as of November 8, there is a 64.9% probability that interest rates will again be reduced by 25 basis points.
The non-manufacturing PMI for October beat expectations (53.8) as it increased to 56.0 from 54.9, making it the fourth straight month of expansion and the highest reading since August 2022. The figure has expanded in 50 of the previous 53 months.
Happening this week…
On Wednesday, the inflation rate year-over-year for October is expected to increase to 2.6% from 2.4%, which was the sixth straight monthly decline and the lowest reading since February 2021 (1.7%). The rate peaked at 9.1% in June 2022. Meanwhile, the core inflation rate year-over-year for October is expected to remain at 3.3%. The prior reading was the first monthly increase since March 2023.
Happy Veteran's Day! Thanks for Reading!
-The Rockline Team
Rockline Wealth Management (RWM) is a registered investment adviser located in Plainview, NY. RWM is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Registration of an investment adviser does not imply any specific level of skill or training and does not constitute an endorsement of the firm by the Commission.
The information presented above is for informational purposes only and believed to be factual and up-to-date, but we do not guarantee its accuracy and it should not be regarded as a complete analysis of the subjects discussed.