Fed’s Moves Strongly Check Boxes During Hump Day’s Stock Market Session – $AAPL $ATOS $DIS $FATE $INMB $INVO $TSLA Rise!

The FOMC Meeting concluded on hump day as expected with the Fed raising short term interest rates by .75%. The Fed’s Chairman “Uncle Jerry” Powell also stated, “We’re not trying to induce a recession now, let’s be clear about that.”  These two moves seemed to check boxes for most investors, especially since it was coupled with the fact that that market had already sold off considerably this year, not to mention this week, and the markets rebounded into the close after a quick bit of indigestion/selloff about 11am pacific when the Fed spoke to the world. 

Investors also received a fair amount of points from the macroeconomic schedule that left a somewhat mixed understanding, but still leaning towards towards rising inflationary issues including the MBA Mortgage Applications Index report that showed a 6.6% Wk/Wk rise, while the purchase applications rose 8% & refinancing applications rose 4%. The total retail sales report also showed a .3% M/M drop & when you exclude autos, retail sales rose .5%  However when you exclude gasoline station sales, retail sales were down .7% M/M in May. The New York Fed’s Empire State Manufacturing Survey report for June came in lower than expected at -1.3 confirming a contraction in manufacturing activity. The Import-Export Price Index report for May confirmed a .3% drop in non-fuel imports & a 2.9% rise in non-agricultural exports, while leaving the Y/Y results respectively at 5.9% & 19.3%. The business inventories report showed a 1.2% M/M rise in April. The June NAHB Housing Market Index report came in 2 points lower at 67. Interestingly, the median estimate for PCE inflation was also moved up  5.2% from 4.3%, while the core CPE inflation was edged to 4.3% from 4.1% in 2022. However, there was also a downward revision in real GDP from 2.8% to 1.7% couple with an increase in the unemployment rate from 3.5% to 3.7%. The median estimate for the fed funds rate has also risen to 3.4% rising from from 1.9%.

At the end of the day and after the recent rise and flattening of the yield curve, the 2-yr yield moved down 20 basis points to close at 3.23% & 10-yr yield moved down 16 basis points at 3.32%. Oil prices remained very, but actually dropped another 3.1% to close at $115.25/bbl, now down 5.1% in 2-days. 

In turn, the major indices refreshingly rebounded sharply today as advancers led the decliners by approximately a 3-to-1 margin. The S&P 500 closed at 3,789.99 (+1.46%) with 10 of the 11 sectors closing in the green. The lone holdout to close in the red was the energy sector that suffered from the drop in oil prices.  The Dow 30 closed at 30,668.53 (+1.0%) as twenty-one components rose. The Nasdaq rebounded strongly closing at 11,099.15 (+2.50%). The small caps on the Russell 2000 closed at 1,731.14 (+1.36%). The MicroCaps followed suit as the iShares Micro-Cap ETF closed at $107.56, +1.75%. The biotech stocks also bounced nicely higher as the SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) closed at $65.68, +3.56%. The 52-wk range is now $61.78 – $141.50. The iShares Biotechnology ETF (IBB) closed at $108.66, +2.29%. The 52-range is $105.38 – $177.37.  The CBOE Volatility Index (^VIX) closed at $29.62, -9.39% and traded within the range of $27.76 to $32.60.

Around the money and precious metals’ tree, the U.S. Dollar Index closed at 104.85, -.63% & Bitcoin (BTC) rebounded too currently at 22,619.62, +4.82% over the last 24-hours.  Gold prices closed at $1,835 oz., +24/oz. & silver closed at $21.71/oz., +$.64/oz. on the day. Two mining producers closed the day as follows:  Hecla Mining Company (HL) closed at $4.46, +3.96% and First Majestic Silver Corp. (AG) closed at $7.98, +3.5%.  

Economic Reports

On Tuesday, the May NFIB Small Business Optimism Index report came in slightly lower at 93.1. The PPI for final demand report showed an .8% rise M/M in May, while the index for final demand, sans foods & energy, moved up .5%. On a Y/Y basis, the PPI for final demand rose 10.8%, while the index for final demand, sans foods a& energy, moved up 8.3%.

On Wednesday, the MBA Mortgage Applications Index report showed a 6.6% Wk/Wk rise, while the purchase applications rose 8% & refinancing applications rose 4%. The total retail sales report also showed a .3% M/M drop & when you exclude autos, retail sales rose .5%  However when you exclude gasoline station sales, retail sales were down .7% M/M in May. The New York Fed’s Empire State Manufacturing Survey report for June came in lower than expected at -1.3 confirming a contraction in manufacturing activity. The Import-Export Price Index report for May confirmed a .3% drop in non-fuel imports & a 2.9% rise in non-agricultural exports, while leaving the Y/Y results respectively at 5.9% & 19.3%. The business inventories report showed a 1.2% M/M rise in April. The June NAHB Housing Market Index report came in 2 points lower at 67.

Investing & Inspiration

1. “The man who has no imagination has no wings.” – Muhammad Ali

2. “Formula for success: rise early, work hard, strike oil.” – J. Paul Getty

3. “Action is the foundational key to all success.” – Pablo Picasso

4. “Hope is like the sun, which, as we journey toward it, casts the shadow of our burden behind us.” – Samuel Smiles

   “The backbone of surprise is fusing speed with secrecy.” – Carl von Clausewitz

5. “There are no shortcuts in evolution.” – Louis D. Brandeis

6. “I am fascinated by what is beautiful, strong, healthy, what is living. I seek harmony.” – Leni Riefenstahl
7. “If one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.” – Henry David Thoreau
8. “Waste no more time arguing about what a good man should be. Be one.” – Marcus Aurelius
9. “It is during our darkest moments that we must focus to see the light.” – Aristotle Onassis
10. “Courage is fear holding on a minute longer.” – George S. Patton
11. “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.” – Mahatma Gandhi
12. “Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds that you plant.” – Robert Louis Stevenson 
13. “It is in the character of very few men to honor without envy a friend who has prospered.” – Aeschylus
14. “Life is a series of natural and spontaneous changes. Don’t resist them – that only creates sorrow. Let reality be reality. Let things flow naturally forward in whatever way they like.” – Lao Tzu
15. “The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate.” – Oprah Winfrey
16. “Anything simple always interests me.” – David Hockney
17. “He who angers you conquers you.” – Elizabeth Kenny
18. “Concision in style, precision in thought, decision in life.” – Victor Hugo
19. “The secret of genius is to carry the spirit of the child into old age, which means never losing your enthusiasm.” – Aldous Huxley
20. “View health as an investment, not an expense.” – John Quelch
21. “The most effective way to do it, is to do it.” – Amelia Earhart
22. “Man needs his difficulties because they are necessary to enjoy success.” – A. P. J. Abdul Kalam
23. “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” – Buddha
24. “Nobody made a greater mistake than he who did nothing because he could do only a little.” – Edmund Burke
25. “You must do the things you think you cannot do.”- Eleanor Roosevelt
26. “Success is dependent on effort.” – Sophocles
27. “Nobody who ever gave his best regretted it.” – George Halas
28. “Lots of people want to ride with you in the limo, but what you want is someone who will take the bus with you when the limo breaks down.” ~ Oprah Winfrey
29. “And when I breathed, my breath was lightning.” – Black Elk
30. “Moderation is the silken string running through the pearl chain of all virtues.” – Joseph Hall
31. “You are the sum total of everything you’ve ever seen, heard, eaten, smelled, been told, forgot – it’s all there. Everything influences each of us, and because of that I try to make sure that my experiences are positive.” – Maya Angelou
32. “If you want a guarantee, buy a toaster.” – Clint Eastwood
33. “We are an impossibility in an impossible universe.” – Ray Bradbury
34. “If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people.” – Confucius
35. “I’d rather attempt to do something great and fail than to attempt to do nothing and succeed.” – Robert H. Schuller
36. “Do your little bit of good where you are; it’s those little bits of good put together that overwhelm the world.” Desmond Tutu
37. “It takes considerable knowledge just to realize the extent of your own ignorance.” – Thomas Sowell
38. “Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment.” – Buddha”
39. Surprise is the greatest gift which life can grant us.” –  Boris Pasternak
40. “Trust in dreams, for in them is hidden the gate to eternity.” – Khalil Gibran 
41. “Always be yourself, express yourself, have faith in yourself, do not go out and look for a successful personality and duplicate it.” – Bruce Lee
42. “All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson
43. “There are no secrets to success. It is the result of preparation, hard work, and learning from failure.” –  Colin Powell
44. “There is more to life than increasing its speed.” – Mahatma Gandhi
45. “Your attitude is like a box of crayons that color your world. Constantly color your picture gray, and your picture will always be bleak. Try adding some bright colors to the picture by including humor, and your picture begins to lighten up.” – Allen Klein
46. “Definiteness of purpose is the starting point of all achievement.” – W. Clement Stone
47. “Success usually comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it.” – Henry David Thoreau
48. “In matters of truth and justice, there is no difference between large and small problems, for issues concerning the treatment of people are all the same.” – Albert Einstein
49. “Life is too short for long-term grudges.” – Elon Musk
50. “There cannot be a crisis next week. My schedule is already full.” – Henry Kissinger
51. “Success consists of getting up just one more time than you fall.” – Oliver Goldsmith
52. “The Earth is the cradle of humanity, but mankind cannot stay in the cradle forever.” – Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
53. “Ours is a world of nuclear giants and ethical infants. We know more about war that we know about peace, more about killing that we know about living.” – Omar N. Bradley
54. “Beauty surrounds us, but usually we need to be walking in a garden to know it.” – Rumi
55. “But man is not made for defeat. A man can be destroyed but not defeated.” – Ernest Hemingway
56. “Don’t watch the clock; do what it does. Keep going.” – Sam Levenson
57. “Let there be work, bread, water and salt for all.” – Nelson Mandela
58. “The social object of skilled investment should be to defeat the dark forces of time and ignorance which envelope our future.” – John Maynard Keynes
59. “A successful society is characterized by a rising living standard for its population, increasing investment in factories and basic infrastructure, and the generation of additional surplus, which is invested in generating new discoveries in science and technology.” – Robert Trout
60. “I know not with what weapons World War III will be fought, but World War IV will be fought with sticks and stones.” – Albert Einstein
61. “It is the fight alone that pleases us, not the victory.” – Blaise Pascal
62. “If you can’t describe what you are doing as a process, you don’t know what you’re doing.” – W. Edwards Deming
63. “Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
64. “Be sure you put your feet in the right place, then stand firm.” – Abraham Lincoln
65. “Without investment there will not be growth, and without growth there will not be employment.” – Muhtar Kent
66. “You have to do your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather was.” – Abraham Lincoln
67. “Victory has a thousand fathers, but defeat is an orphan.” – John F. Kennedy
68. “Delete the negative; accentuate the positive!” – Donna Karan
69. “It’s crazy how fast time flies and how things progress.” – Nathan Chen
70. “The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don’t do anything about it.” – Albert Einstein
71. “Life isn’t about finding yourself. Life is about creating yourself.” – George Bernard Shaw
72. “Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.” – Confucius
73. “A man must be big enough to admit his mistakes, smart enough to profit from them, and strong enough to correct them.” – John C. Maxwell
74. “Walking with a friend in the dark is better than walking alone in the light.” – Helen Keller
75. “A man who dares to waste one hour of time has not discovered the value of life.” – Charles Darwin
76. “The greater danger for most of us lies not in setting our aim too high and falling short; but in setting our aim too low, and achieving our mark.” – Michelangelo
77. “Progress is man’s ability to complicate simplicity.” – Thor Heyerdahl
78. “I like to encourage people to realize that any action is a good action if it’s proactive and there is positive intent behind it.” – Michael J. Fox
79. “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!” – Audrey Hepburn
80. “But investment in space stimulates society, it stimulates it economically, it stimulates it intellectually, and it gives us all passion.” – Bill Nye
81. “Bitcoin, in the short or even long term, may turn out be a good investment in the same way that anything that is rare can be considered valuable. Like baseball cards. Or a Picasso.” – Andrew Ross Sorkin
82. “Life is a tragedy when seen in close-up, but a comedy in long-shot.” – Charlie Chaplin
83. “No matter what you’re going through, there’s a light at the end of the tunnel and it may seem hard to get to it but you can do it and just keep working towards it and you’ll find the positive side of things.” – Demi Lovato
84. “Infrastructure investment in science is an investment in jobs, in health, in economic growth and environmental solutions.” – Oren Etzioni
85. “Educating our children and giving them the skills they need to compete in a global economy is a smart investment in our country’s future.” – Sheldon Whitehouse
86. “Know thy self, know thy enemy. A thousand battles, a thousand victories.” – Sun Tzu
87. “If one does not know to which port one is sailing, no wind is favorable.” – Lucius Annaeus Seneca
88. “Beware of missing chances; otherwise it may be altogether too late some day.” – Franz Liszt
89. “The sofa is a really important investment for anybody, and I don’t mean financially. You need to find a really great sofa that can transition with you, and you can build from there.” – Jeremiah Brent
90. “There is no investment you can make which will pay you so well as the effort to scatter sunshine and good cheer through your establishment.” – Orison Swett Marden
91. “Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.” – Marie Curie
92. “There is little that can withstand a man who can conquer himself.” – Louis XIV
93. “In tennis, you strike a ball just after the rebound for the fastest return. It’s the same with investment.” – Masayoshi Son
94. “A camel makes an elephant feel like a jet plane.” – Jackie Kennedy
95. “The advance of technology is based on making it fit in so that you don’t really even notice it, so it’s part of everyday life.” – Bill Gates
96. “Success depends upon previous preparation, and without such preparation there is sure to be failure.” – Confucius, Chinese 
97. “Coming together is a beginning; keeping together is progress; working together is success.” – Edward Everett Hale
98. “Never do anything against conscience even if the state demands it.”– Albert Einstein
99. “Education is not only a ladder of opportunity, but it is also an investment in our future.” – Ed Markey
100. “The true measure of a man is how he treats someone who can do him absolutely no good.” – Samuel Johnson
101. “In my view, the biggest investment risk is not the volatility of prices, but whether you will suffer a permanent loss of capital. Not only is the mere drop in stock prices not risk, but it is an opportunity. Where else do you look for cheap stocks?” – Li Lu
102. “A successful society is characterized by a rising living standard for its population, increasing investment in factories and basic infrastructure, and the generation of additional surplus, which is invested in generating new discoveries in science and technology.” – Robert Trout
103. “The best preparation for tomorrow is doing your best today.” – H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
104. “Friendship marks a life even more deeply than love. Love risks degenerating into obsession, friendship is never anything but sharing.” – Elie Wiesel
105. “Investing in women’s lives is an investment in sustainable development, in human rights, in future generations – and consequently in our own long-term national interests.” – Liya Kebede
106. “Success isn’t measured by money or power or social rank. Success is measured by your discipline and inner peace.” – Mike Ditka
107. “No matter how many goals you have achieved, you must set your sights on a higher one.” – Jessica Savitch 
108. “Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can.”– Arthur Ashe
109. “The secret of getting ahead is getting started.” – Mark Twain
110. “The amount of work and the amount of both physical and emotional investment it takes to get to the top.” – Drew Bledsoe