That was quite the “Fed Faceplant” yesterday, wasn’t it? Equities plunged in the late afternoon, though they’re trying to bounce back a bit in the early going.
Gold was the real winner, rallying sharply late yesterday and a bit more this morning. Silver is up too, while oil and the dollar are flat, and Treasuries are a bit lower.
On the news front...
Yesterday was the kind of day where you say “Well, that could have gone better” after the close. The stock market did a late-day swan dive in the wake of the Federal Reserve’s decision to hike interest rates by 25 basis points to a new range of 4.75% - 5%. That was the highest since 2007.
At his post-rate-hike press conference, Chairman Jay Powell said he was watching the banking sector turmoil closely. He also implied that it could keep the Fed from getting too aggressive in the future with rate hikes.
But Powell did say that a lack of progress on the inflation front could keep the Fed on a hiking path regardless. That put traders in a foul mood.
So did simultaneous comments in Congress by Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. She said expanded bank deposit insurance was “not something that we have looked at” and that “It is not something we are considering.” Bank stocks tanked on the news, with the SPDR S&P Bank ETF (KRE) finishing the day down almost 6%.
In other news, the CEO of TikTok is testifying before Congress today amid concerns over user data privacy. Lawmakers are considering banning the video app because of concerns its Chinese owner, ByteDance, could share data with the Chinese government.
Lastly, cryptocurrency exchange operator Coinbse Global (COIN) said it received a Wells notice from the SEC. That indicates the securities regulator will bring an enforcement action against Coinbase. The SEC has been scrutinizing so-called staking and digital asset listing practices among crypto firms. COIN shares tanked as much as 14% in response.
