Fed Minutes Rock Wall Street

August 18, 2021 By: Todd Mitchell

The stock market was cautious throughout Wednesday’s session and into the Federal Reserve’s July meeting minutes before a selloff ensued following a potential shift in monetary policy.

The minutes hinted central bankers will consider reducing the Fed’s mortgage-backed purchase program, likely by the end of the year, but also suggested interest rates could still stay near zero for some time. The latter comments didn’t matter as sellers emerged to push the major indexes lower for the second-straight session.

The Dow ended at 34,960 (-1.1%) with the low kissing 34,943. Key support at 35,000 failed to hold. Continued closes below this level will likely lead to a retest towards 34,750-34,500 and the 50-day moving average.

The S&P 500 tested a low of 4,397 before finishing at 4,400 (-1.1%). Crucial support at 4,400 was breached but held by a quarter-point. A close below this level would signal additional weakness towards 4,375-4,350 and the 50-day moving average.

The Nasdaq tumbled to a late day low of 14,516 before closing at 14,525 (-0.9%). Current and upper support at 14,650-14,500 and the 50-day moving average failed to hold. A move below the latter would signal additional risk towards 14,350-14,200.

The Russell 2000 settled at 2,158 (-0.8%) with the afternoon low reaching 2,157. Prior and upper support at 2,175-2,150 was breached and failed to hold. A close below the latter would suggest ongoing weakness towards 2,125-2,100 with the July low at 2,107. 

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ANALYST UPGRADES/DOWNGRADES

BlackBerry (BB) upgraded to Hold from Sell at Canaccord
ViacomCBS (VIAC) upgraded to Overweight from Equal Weight at Wells Fargo
Wendy's (WEN) upgraded to Outperform from Perform at Oppenheimer

Amcor (AMCR) downgraded to Sell from Neutral at Goldman Sachs
Canadian Solar (CSIQ) downgraded to Sell from Buy at GLJ Research
Five9 (FIVN) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at UBS

THURSDAY'S EARNINGS ANNOUNCEMENTS 
Before the open: BJ's Wholesale Club (BJ), Despegar.com (DESP), Estee Lauder (EL), Gold Fields (GFI), Kohl's (KSS), LSI Industries (LYTS), Macy's (M), Madison Square Garden (MSGS), Patria (PAX), Petco Health and Wellness Company (WOOF), Stevanato Group (STVN), Tapestry (TPR), Yirendai (YRD)

After the close: Applied Materials (AMAT), Blend Labs (BLND), Cango (CANG), Farfetch Limited (FTCH), LifeVantage (LFVN), Ross Stores (ROST)

THURSDAY'S ECONOMIC NEWS
Jobless Claims - 8:30am
Philadelphia Fed Business Outlook Survey - 8:30am
Leading Indicators - 10:00am

METALS/ OIL
Gold closed at $1,784.40 an ounce, down $3.40
Silver settled at $23.42  an ounce, down $0.24
Copper finished at $4.12 a pound, down $0.09
Crude Oil was at $64.66 a barrel, down $2.01
Bitcoin Investment Trust (GBTC) ended at $35.33  ​down $1.28

I hope this helps you prepare for the trading day. Make it a great one!

 Todd Mitchell

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