The Market Rallies on Positive Economic Data

The stock market is turning back its two-day slide from earlier this week. So far, many of the aggressive stocks are doing well. For example, the Nasdaq is leading the S&P 500 this morning by one full percentage point.

James Bullard, the top guy at the St. Louis Fed, said he sees more rate hikes this year. He added that we’re not in a recession and he projects rate increases of 1.5% left to come this year.

His comments have been the latest in a string of remarks from Fed officials adopting a more hawkish tone. The market started to rally in the middle of last week as Jerome Powell’s comments were seen as more dovish.

We also got some surprisingly strong economic data this morning. The ISM Non-Manufacturing Index was 56.7. That beat expectations of 54. Also, the factory orders report showed an increase of 2%. Economists were expecting 1.2%.

After the close, we’ll get earnings reports from FICO (FICO) and Miller Industries (MLR). Of course, the big jobs report is due out on Friday morning.

Posted by on August 3rd, 2022 at 11:00 am


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