Stock Market Reacts to Fed Rate Hikes, S&P 500 Reaches Highest Level

The stock market has been responding to the recent speech from Jerome Powell and the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meeting. Last week, the economy added 517,000 jobs and the SPDR S&P 500 (AMEX: SPY) gapped down 1.25% on Friday after a big bullish day on Thursday saw the market ETF rally 1.46%. This was a reaction to Powell delivering a standard speech that sentimentally suggested Fed rate hikes were likely in the next two months.

Each trading day features hundreds of headlines and press releases on Benzinga Pro, a source for traders to see the latest news on the stock market. Despite the current recession, the stock market isn’t worried as recent consumer surveys reflect the economic conditions. As a result, the S&P 500 reached its highest level in five months this week as investors digested another Federal Reserve interest rate hike and a slew of economic news.

State Street’s SPDR S&P 500 fund changed investing forever, ushering in the era of indexing and instant access to funds. This allowed investors to easily invest in the stock market, no matter their knowledge level. Most of the 2023 outlook reports are fairly unimaginative and follow a predictable pattern. Central banks will keep hiking, recession will continue, and investors will remain cautious.

Consumer prices rose at the pace in December that economists were projecting, signaling the Federal Reserve is starting to make progress in its goal of achieving 2% inflation. This inflation number is seen as a positive for the stock market, as it could lead to a further expansion of the S&P 500 and other indices.

In conclusion, the stock market is responding to recent Fed rate hikes and the S&P 500 has reached its highest level in five months. Despite the current recession, consumer surveys reflect the economic conditions and the Federal Reserve is signaling that it is making progress in its goal of achieving 2% inflation.