Retail sales fell short and consumer sentiment is falling. But households hold the highest percentage of stocks ever. Previous periods of high equity ownership resulted in sharp stock market declines.
The US Dollar market is doing the opposite of what logic dictates. The problem is of course is that the Dollar has been pricing this in for several months.
You want to talk craziness? Try and trade futures of bitcoin or natural gas. If gold takes out the highs of Thursday, it could set the market back up..
Powell says that there are three hikes coming this year, but will be data dependent -- which means Powell remains independent and open-minded. Gold has an upside bias but still has yet to make a definitive move.
The Federal Reserve chairman is trying to calibrate an interest rate hike without causing a sell-off in global stock markets. All these comments are just for readying the stock traders..
