Gold might be soaring… but this asset has done even better!
Well, the market didn’t waste any time today.
Jerome Powell took the stage just after lunch — 12:35pm Eastern — and the reaction was quick and ugly.
Here’s the gist of what he said:
- Hiring has slowed down.
- Companies are “offsetting tariff costs” by simply not hiring.
- Equity prices are “fairly high.”
- Disinflation in services is still ongoing.
- And consumer spending has slowed.
That’s not exactly a pep talk. Put all that together, and you’ve got a recipe for risk-off trading.
By 12:50pm Eastern — 15 minutes after he started speaking — stocks started selling off hard as he continued.
The market just doesn’t like Powell right now — plain and simple.
But that wasn’t the only headline.
Trump took another swing at the United Nations, blasting them for buying Russian oil. And in the same breath, Russia announced it was banning gasoline exports because they’re running short on supply themselves.
No surprise — crude and gasoline prices jumped on that news. Between geopolitics and supply squeezes, the energy market never stays quiet for long.
So here’s where we stand as I write this heading into the close:
- Powell’s comments dragged stocks lower.
- Trump vs. the UN put oil back in the headlines.
- Russia’s gasoline ban gave fuel prices another jolt.
That’s a full plate of headlines in one afternoon. Let’s see what tomorrow brings.
Stay sharp,
— Geof
