In Monday’s trading, however, things were largely overlooked by investors even as the CPI release loomed.
Regarding that CPI report: despite the 0.3% (as-expected) rise, the year-over-year picture is far from worsening, helping to ease some inflationary fears.
But looking at today’s FedSpeak, the battle is far from over.
The Beige Book, which was just released, showed a “modest pace” of increase in economic activity across most districts.
It is tough to justify rate cuts in this environment without further hurting the Dollar’s credibility.
But the real hammer on the market was a combination of this higher political instability and the developments in Iran.
Now lasting for almost a month, the revolts have led to 12,000+ civilian casualties, which is increasingly prompting calls for US intervention.
If Venezuela made the case for a strong presence in South America, “Monroe Doctrine” style, this situation could have a significantly higher impact on global stability.
For now, it is at least impacting Oil (up 10% since last week), volatility, and investor sentiment.
Stock Indexes are plunging in today’s session, particularly in the higher-beta sectors, with the Mag 7s getting dumped hard.
Let’s dive right into our Mid-Week North American Markets recap.
