The US stock and bond markets are closed today for the Juneteenth holiday. Overseas stock markets are trading, however, and both European and Asian stocks were weak.
Meanwhile, futures are relatively subdued, with crude oil flat and gold down a smidge. The dollar was up a bit in forex land.
On the news front…
US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken met with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in Beijing today amid ongoing tensions between the two countries. The diplomatic mission comes as the US and China continue to spar over Taiwanese sovereignty, bilateral trade, technology sanctions, and the construction of military bases in the South China Sea.
We have a Battle Royale going on between the Federal Reserve and...tech stock investors? That’s the conclusion of this Wall Street Journal story, which talks about how tighter Fed policy hasn’t managed to rein in the AI boom or the rally in tech stocks overall. The Nasdaq Composite Index just notched its eighth weekly gain in a row, the longest stretch of gains since March 2019.
But it might not be as shocking as it seems at first. Even the Fed just skipped a rate-hiking opportunity last week. If that’s confirmation the Fed is near the end of its hiking cycle, then tech stock investors don’t have to fear ever-rising rates and their impact on the value of companies that aren’t likely to earn their biggest profits until farther out in the future.
Speaking of the Fed, Chairman Jay Powell will appear before Congress on Wednesday. It’s a potentially noteworthy appearance because it will give Powell his first chance to guide markets since last week’s “no-hike” meeting.
