Welcome to moody Monday, with stocks wobbling and oil prices getting hit hard after a batch of downbeat data from China, alongside a surprise rate cut. Some say that the global growth engine’s economic issues belong in a different box from the rest of the world, owing to Cihna’s self-imposed slowdown via COVID restrictions. But it’s just more evidence that the global economy remains wobbly.
On Wall Street, meanwhile, increasing investor bets on a soft economic landing and a less aggressive Fed pushed the S&P 500
SPX,
+0.17%
and Nasdaq
COMP,
+0.34%
to their best run of weekly wins since November 2021. That’s as inflation obediently dropped, albeit to a still nosebleedish 8.5% in July for consumer prices. So what if you’re an investor harboring doubts about stocks continuing this winning run and looking to cash out, at least for now? Our call of the day from Michael O’Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading, says a window of opportunity is about to open. “For the next two weeks, the Federal Reserve should be preparing markets for a reminder from the Fed Chairman at Jackson Hole that the FOMC needs to get to a positive real policy rate, which means rates will be higher for longer,” O’Rourke told clients in a note. “That messaging will start in a meaningful way this Wednesday with the FOMC minutes. The Cold War with China is escala …