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Weekly Market Commentary | March 24, 2022
Markets were reassured by the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC)’s actions last week.
The FOMC met on March 16 and did exactly what most people expected them to do. They raised the federal funds target rate by a quarter point. Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell said the Fed expects to continue to raise rates and reduce its balance sheet during 2022 to lower inflation.
The bond market appeared to give the Fed a vote of confidence. The yield on the two-year UST, which is the maturity that’s most sensitive to expectations for future rate hikes, rose from 1.75 percent at the end of last week to 1.97 percent. The yield on the benchmark 10-year UST also increased, but not by as much.
Randall Forsyth of Barron’s reported, “…moves in the Treasury market add up to a marked flattening in the slope of the yield curve, a classic signal the market foresees a slowing of real growth along with an eventual diminution of inflation pressures.”
In an ideal circumstance, the Fed would engineer a “soft landing” by pushing demand for goods down just enough to quash inflation without causing the U.S. economy going into recession. However, the Putin effect is making the Fed’s job harder. Fed Chair Powell stated:
“…the implications of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine for the U.S. economy are highly uncertain. In addition to the direct effects from higher global oil and commodity prices, the invasion and related events may restrain economic activity abroad and further disrupt supply chains, which would create spillovers to the U.S. economy through trade and other channels. The volatility in financial markets, particularly if sustained, could also act to tighten credit conditions and affect the real economy…We will need to be nimble in responding to incoming data and the evolving outlook.”
Improved clarity around monetary policy reassured investors last week. Major U.S. stock indices rallied with the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index gaining 6.2 percent, the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising 5.5 percent, and the Nasdaq Composite up 8.2 percent, reported Ben Levisohn of Barron’s.
Sources:
https://www.federalreserve.gov/mediacenter/files/FOMCpresconf20220316.pdf
https://home.treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/TextView?type=daily_treasury_yield_curve&field_tdr_date_value_month=202203
https://www.barrons.com/articles/feds-rate-rises-drag-stocks-down-51647466599?mod=article_inline (or go to https://resources.carsongroup.com/hubfs/WMC-Source/2022/03-21-22_Barrons_The%20Market%20Rose%20on%20the%20Feds%20Rate%20Hikes_3.pdf)
https://www.barrons.com/articles/stock-market-dow-nasdaq-sp-500-51647648789?refsec=the-trader (or go to https://resources.carsongroup.com/hubfs/WMC-Source/2022/03-21-22_Barrons_The%20Stock%20Market%20Just%20Had%20Its%20Biggest%20Gain%20Since%202020_4.pdf)
https://www.economist.com/the-economist-explains/2021/11/04/changing-the-clocks-is-unpopular-why-do-it (or go to https://resources.carsongroup.com/hubfs/WMC-Source/2022/03-21-22_The%20Economist_Changing%20Clocks%20is%20Unpopular_5.pdf)
https://today.yougov.com/topics/politics/articles-reports/2021/11/04/daylight-saving-time-americans-want-stay-permanent
https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/623
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-03-16/what-year-round-daylight-saving-time-would-mean-quicktake (or go to https://resources.carsongroup.com/hubfs/WMC-Source/2022/03-21-22_Bloomberg_What%20Year-Round%20Daylight%20Saving%20Time%20Would%20Mean_8.pdf)
https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/should-we-make-daylight-saving-time-permanent-lets-sleep-on-it/
https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Meditation_XVII
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