9:00am (EST)
The was market tension ahead of yesterday’s Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) Minutes as the major indexes traded in a tight range ahead of the late day news. Much of the action favored the bears but the bulls made a slight run into positive shortly after the open. Wall Street was hoping to hear some good news but instead, it got more of the same rhetoric we have been accustomed to hearing.
There was a hope the Federal Reserve’s latest meeting was going to be a little more aggressive and that more easing may be coming which were going to give stocks a pop. Although there are a few zombies in favor of turning back on the printing prices, others weren’t which led to no definitive clues on a new stimulus program. Of course, the Feds said they would be ready to provide additional quantitative easing measures, if needed, but the market sold-off anyway.
There are a lot of ways the report will try to be spun but the bottom line is this. The minutes are from 3 weeks ago and at the time U.S. growth was predicted to come in at 2%. However, the zombies have been clueless on the rapidly declining economic numbers (which we have been reporting on) as growth for the States is now expected to come in at only 1%.
The Fed also said China’s growth prospects are troublesome and that has been old news as we have said many analysts believe they fudge their numbers. Either way, China’s economic numbers are sliding south along with its stock market which hit a 6-month low this morning.
Although there was a slight bounce off the bottom into the close, the market continued with its pattern of lower highs and lower lows. (continued…)
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