The S&P 500 Roars To New Record Highs
The S&P 500 (Index: SPX) roared to new record highs, closing the trading week at 4,352.34, having closed higher on each of its last seven trading days.
The alternative futures chart shows the trajectory of the index rising to the top end of the latest redzone forecast range:
The redzone forecast assumes investors would focus on 2021-Q3 in setting current day stock prices, but that may have changed during the past week, thanks to the continuing efforts of Federal Reserve officials to set expectations they will not hike rates until late 2023 to respond to inflation, which they continue to claim is transitory.
Instead, the economic data is such that Fed officials are instead signaling they will begin tapering their stimulus bond buys at the end of 2021, which we think may have prompted investors to shift their forward-looking attention outward to the more distant future quarter of 2022-Q1.
When we refer to future quarters, we're referring to the periods covered by dividend futures contracts, which do not follow calendar quarters. For example, 2021-Q4 will end when its dividend futures contract expires on the third Friday of December 2021, or rather, on 17 December 2021. The Federal Reserve's Federal Open Market Committee's final meeting of the year will occur earlier that week, where any action they choose to take would begin just as 2021-Q4 ends, which is why investors would focus on 2022-Q1.
Our thinking is paced in part by the market moving headlines of the week that was, where you can see the efforts of the Fed's minions to set future expectations:
Monday, 28 June 2021
- Fed minions question cryptocurrency, want to keep greasing mortgage market, say inflation won't last:
- NY Fed's Williams says major questions need to addressed as digital currencies emerge
- Fed's Rosengren says U.S. can't afford housing market 'boom and bust' - FT
- Fed's Quarles says supply chain imbalances boosting inflation are transitory
- Fed's Barkin says U.S. has made "substantial further progress" on inflation goal
- Big trouble developing in
- ECB minions torn between keeping pandemic stimulus going or stopping it someday, think Eurozone banks will suffer without continued support:
- Eurozone banks suffering from weakening credit quality: ECB
- Tech stock rally sends S&P and Nasdaq to record highs
Tuesday, 29 June 2021
- Signs and portents for the U.S. economy:
- Fed minions talk about letting banks fail again, stopping taper, rate hikes next year:
- Bigger inflation developing all over:
- S&P, Nasdaq rise to record closes
Wednesday, 30 June 2021
- Signs and portents for the U.S. economy:
- Fed minion talks about tapering bond buys sooner:
- S&P 500 notches fifth straight record closing high, fifth straight quarterly gain
Thursday, 1 July 2021
- Signs and portents for the U.S. economy:
- Fed minions haunted by ghosts:
- Pandemic status determines economic recovery level:
- India's factory activity shrinks for first time in 11 months amid COVID-19 crisis
- Spanish factory activity hits another two-decade high - PMI
- UK factories ride demand boom, price pressures hit record - PMI
- Eurozone factory growth, input costs rose at record pace in June -PMI
- European factories racing as Asian manufacturers see momentum weaken
- Brazil manufacturing PMI in June hits four-month high -IHS Markit
- Mexico's factories contract at the slowest pace since COVID hit
- Bigger inflation developing all over:
- ECB minions fear mutated virus strains and inflation, can no longer tell "normal" from "crisis", or ever allow interest rates to rise:
- S&P 500 winning streak extends to sixth straight record close
Friday, 2 July 2021
- Signs and portents for the U.S. economy:
- Fed minions concerned about effects of printing too much money:
- Bigger inflation developing all over:
- ECB minions say Eurozone economy is still weak, despite rapid growth :
- Wall Street hits record on robust June jobs data
Need more U.S. markets and economy news? The old standby of the Wall Street Journal provides above-average news coverage, falling in the "center" range of Allsides' bias ratings.
The next week will be interesting because of the S&P 500's current streak of consecutive higher daily closes. We'll find out how close it might get to a new record in that category as well!
Disclaimer: Materials that are published by Political Calculations can provide visitors with free information and insights regarding the incentives created by the laws and policies described. ...
more