Morning Reads
- Supply-Chain Alternative to China
- Eurozone Inflation Slows Sharply as Energy Costs Continue to Ease
- Central Banks Bought the Most Gold Since 1967 Last Year, WGC Says
- Wall Street’s Newfound Optimism Faces a Test as the Fed Meets
- Cooler Pay Gains Add to Debate on When Fed Might Pause Rate Hikes
- Wall Street Is Making the Same Fed Bet That’s Burned It Repeatedly
- ChatGPT Unleashes Stock Trader Stampede for Everything AI
- Oil Giants, After Surge in Profits, Are Wary About Spending
- Whole Foods Asks Suppliers to Lower Prices
- Black Americans Are Much More Likely to Face Tax Audits, Study Finds
- Vaccine Makers Kept $1.4 Billion in Prepayments for Canceled Covid Shots for the World’s Poor
- How the World’s Second-Richest Man Lost $68 Billion in a Week
- Adani Stock Meltdown Hits $92 Billion as Collateral Worries Grow
- Peloton No Longer at ‘Brink of Extinction’ as Losses Narrow
- GM’s Fourth-Quarter Profit Soared as Supply-Chain Problems Eased
- Porsche Blunder Puts $148,000 Sportscar on Sale for Just $18,000
- The Next Retirement Communities Won’t Be Just for Seniors
- The Unlikely New TikTok Influencers: Old-School Watch Dealers
- Snap Is Stuck in the Darkroom
- Warner Bros. Discovery’s DC Superhero Universe to Take On Marvel
Todays Open Interest Change
PREMIUM
PREPPER
Traders widely expect the Federal Reserve to slow its pace of rate hikes to 25 basis points today, down from a 50 bps increase in December, which followed four back-to-back 75 bps hikes. It follows recent economic data that showed inflation decelerating over the past few months, giving evidence that rate hikes are starting to work. On Friday, core PCE inflation, the Fed's preferred measure, came in at 4.4% Y/Y for December, though the overall figure still remains well above the central bank's 2% goal.
Snapshot: The Fed's rapid tightening, which started in March 2022, was intended to reduce demand for goods and services, and bring it more into balance with supply to ease inflationary pressures. Jay Powell and Co. are now assessing the impact of the tightening already in place, so keep a close eye on his press conference that starts at 2:30 PM ET. Of particular note will be whether the statement of "ongoing [interest rate] increases" will be included (it has been in every FOMC statement since last March).
Many recent remarks from Fed officials expect the terminal rate to exceed 5%, with none indicating a willingness to cut for the rest of the year. The Seeking Alpha community appears to agree, with 64% of respondents to this week's Wall Street Breakfast survey believing that rates will hit 5% or more in 2023. Earlier in January, Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari even said he sees the federal funds rate rising to 5.4% before pausing.
SA commentary: Stocks aren't reflecting that outlook. Michael Kramer of Mott Capital Management points out that financial markets have eased to levels not seen since the spring of 2022 and may force the Fed to push back on the market's dovish stance. SA contributor Logan Kane also writes that traders "are clamoring for a pivot," while Chris Lau looks at five considerations after the Fed's first rate hike of 2023. (106 comments)
While Snap's (SNAP) earnings may have jarred some sentiment, equities wrapped up January with some surprises as the benchmark S&P 500 (SP500) finished the month with a gain of 6.2%. The rally means that stocks hit the so-called "January Indicator Trifecta," which gives the blue-chip index close to, if not a 100% historical probability of rising strongly for 2023 as a whole, according to Jeff Hirsch of the Stock Trader's Almanac. The clear leaders of the S&P 500 have been sectors like Consumer Discretionary, Communication Services, Real Estate, IT and Materials, though individual players like Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD) and Tesla (TSLA) have stood out in January's top 10 best-performing stocks. (7 comments)
It's "code red" at Google (GOOG, GOOGL) as the tech leader tries to respond quickly to the threat posed by ChatGPT. OpenAI's chatbot has made waves since it went public late last year, and even prompted rival Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) to take a multi-billion stake in the company. Google is now testing ChatGPT-like products that use its LaMDA technology (Language Model for Dialogue Applications), such as a chatbot called "Apprentice Bard" that could give detailed answers (even to recent events), as well as integrating new chat technology into its search engine. As AI turns into a significant investing conversation, this actively managed ETF - that makes its trading decisions based on artificial intelligence - doubled the return of the S&P 500 in January. (56 comments)
A Jan. 31 deadline to strike a deal on voluntarily cutting water use of the Colorado River has come and passed amid a historic drought and record low reservoir levels. While a proposal called the "consensus-based modeling alternative," was jointly submitted by six Western states, California - the largest user of the Colorado River - is not on board. It plans to submit its own plan to protect one of America's most important natural resources, which supplies water to 40M people. The federal government might now have to impose cuts that will likely end up in court, while Wall Street is smelling dollar signs from the latest crisis as water turns into a hot commodity.
Today's Markets
In Asia, Japan +0.1%. Hong Kong +1.1%. China +0.9%. India +0.3%.
In Europe, at midday, London +0.1%. Paris flat. Frankfurt +0.1%.
Futures at 6:30, Dow -0.4%. S&P -0.3%. Nasdaq -0.2%. Crude +0.4% to $79.15. Gold flat at $1945.60. Bitcoin +1% to $23,081.
Ten-year Treasury Yield -4 bps to 3.49%
Today's Economic Calendar
7:00 MBA Mortgage Applications
8:15 ADP Jobs Report
9:45 PMI Manufacturing Index
10:00 ISM Manufacturing Index
10:00 Construction Spending
10:00 Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey
10:30 EIA Petroleum Inventories
2:00 PM FOMC Announcement
2:30 PM Chairman Press Conference
Companies reporting earnings today »
What else is happening...
House Republican proposes classifying marijuana as Schedule III substance.
U.S. natgas futures wrap up biggest monthly decline in 22 years.
PayPal (PYPL) to lay off 2,000 employees in another round of cost cuts.
AMD (AMD) CEO says company in 'good position' for data center gains.
Tesla (TSLA) updates on capex spending, Autopilot probe and Bitcoin.
Downturn! Intel (INTC) cuts employee pay, slashes CEO salary by 25%.
FDA to overhaul food safety division in wake of baby formula issues.
Exxon (XOM) dividend untouched after record annual profit.
McDonald's (MCD) swings lower with inflation worries in the mix.
GM (GM) revs up Q4 earnings, makes major lithium investment.