US indices battled, fought and clawed its way back into the green after spending majority of today’s session gassed in the red in front of May CPI data and June’s FOMC meeting tomorrow. Quick fade for major US averages post open with the DXY catching a bid coupled with some profit taking and financials making exacerbated moves off macro deterioration and rates potentially peaking. After a solid 10-year auction this afternoon, bonds sold off, with a better than average “BTC” (Bid to Cover, highe…

While Summer doesn’t officially start for another 10 days, can someone tell the market that?! Activity remains eerily muted as momentum remains key amongst the narrowing few at the lead and ahead of a fresh May CPI print plus an update to the dot plots following the FOMC meeting this Wednesday. Both the S&P and the Nasdaq secured new closing highs even in the face of our weaker-across-the-board European brethren today. Especially given the hotter jobs number from NFP on Friday, a cautious t…

While volumes remained heavily depressed, this Friday’s trading day was certainly not void of vibrant entertainment! It started early with NFP. The gasps were audible as the market took a swift and unexpected punch to the gut following a stronger nonfarm payroll number. The May print of 272k was well above consensus expectations at 185k, Wage Inflation added in an uptick from 3.9% to 4.1%- and to keep things interesting- May also saw a rise in the Unemployment Rate from 3.9-4.0%. The data con…

It was a dull day here on 5th Avenue in New York City, perhaps a small hangover after the S&P 500 reached a new all-time high again yesterday. Nvidia (-1.1%) investors seemed to be trimming slightly after closing above $3 trillion market cap yesterday and briefly taking the number two spot away from the behemoth Apple. The theme remains the same today as it has for the past year where Tech continues to dominate US markets. To put it into perspective, the Dow Jones is at a 20-year relative low w…

“Get Tech or Get Wrecked” as SPX hits 25th record this year (according to Bloomberg) …I would love to take credit for this, but I am quoting two of my esteemed colleagues and making lemonade (cough cough Ben Denney and Gerard Hug). However, doesn’t change the theme here, tech led us higher on the day in the wake of mixed data and other macro events. Let’s unpack, major US indices did not look back after a strong indicated open on the heels of China PMI, an anticipated BoC (they cut 25 bps, f…

Oil was the prominent focus once again today, extending yesterday’s weakness amid ongoing supply concerns stemming from Sunday’s OPEC+ meeting. Unhelpfully, heavyweight BP also saw an S&P rating cut and thus, oil majors such as Conoco (COP -1.4%), Schlumberger (SLB -1.5%) and Halliburton (HAL -2.5%) took part in sector-wide abuse. Putting the more volatile yet ever-relevant commodity aside though, investors seem to be teetering on the state of the economy with both bulls and bears on shaky grou…

Trying to navigate the complicated world of financial markets is a fun endeavor as others become a millionaire many (hundreds of?) times over on the flip of an Uno card. To be fair, it’s an underrated game. The kitty was roaring again (but some purrs from the SEC may be coming…) but the broader market ended May with a bit of a whimper and the first trading day of June changed little. The issues monopolizing the mental market share remain the same (rates, inflation) and as such, the picture is…

Nothing like a rally into the close to get investors ready for the weekend. US indices traded modestly in the red for most of today’s session, but with just 20 minutes to spare the MSCI rebalance added some action. Indices reversed course to close higher with the Dow +151 bps, the S&P500 +80 bps, and the Nasdaq -1bp on elevated volumes. An interesting shake up was evident today with some month-end mean reversion that saw heavy underperformance in tech, momentum, and growth – the same factors th…

Markets flipped the usual script today as small caps outperformed the major indices (RTY was +1%), Nvidia fell almost 4%, and Consumer Discretionary and Real Estate topped the S&P sector leaderboard. The SPX and CCMP finished lower for multiple reasons – weakness in certain corners of the market, for one (see: software). Additionally, this morning’s economic data inflated investors’ concerns regarding the economy, giving treasuries a boost. Q1 GDP/PCE/Personal Consumption and April pending home…

Markets red today as the calendar ticks closer to month end. While the MSCI will be the volume crescendo at Friday’s close, participants are still adjusting their positions into the end of May. As of now, the broader indexes are sitting on nice monthly gains (SPX +4.6%, CCMP +8%, RTY +3.16%), but obviously the month is not finished yet! The pull today of those monthly adjustments kept a lid on the markets as the S&P 500 opened lower by 74bps, and the Nasdaq 82bps. They did rally slightly off th…