Yesterday, I warned of a possible shaky day today because of the risk of weakening consumer news. However, the biggest market shaker was Pelosi’s announcement that the House will launch a formal impeachment inquiry. The resulting market fallout wasn’t a surprise, but possibly overdone. Yes, this means the Chinese might slow-ball any kind of trade agreement and wait for a Dem President. But, I think the market stabilizes towards the end of the week and China is not the news this week. NOTE: Lots of Ukraine news will come out over the next few days that could change EVERYTHING.
Today’s consumer news was a mixed bag. The Consumer Confidence numbers missed expectations as I expected, but it didn’t do much to the market. If anything, it supports the idea that another Fed rate cut is right around the corner.
On the flip side of today’s double smack-down of bad news, Nike’s (NKE) earnings report was HOT. I should never doubt Nike. They reported a great quarter and adequate guidance. There was very little from that report that shows they are freaking out about the consumer’s buying power. As a result, NKE jumped over $90/share (up 5% after hours).
So, what does it all mean?
The mixed messages continue, but the consumer is STILL relatively confident. I’m not ready to bet against them quite yet. However, the impeachment news might add a little volatility Wednesday. For me, this means sitting on my hands until tomorrow afternoon or Thursday. I really want to buy the pullback in both my active trading accounts and my passive accounts.
More thoughts tomorrow night.
