SPX daily
It’s tough to pin down exactly what is driving the bid in equity markets today but the S&P 500 has extended the gain to 54 points, or 1.0%. It follows a 117 point gain on Friday.
The AI momentum and meme trade isn’t exactly driving it with both Nvidia and Tesla down substantially. Consumer stocks like Walmart and Target are solid gainers in a sign that today’s better retail sales report could be cooling some recession worries. I wasn’t impressed with the details but the market may be seeing it as ‘good enough’ at a time when tariff uncertainty is at a high.
On that front, Kevin Hassett did have some more-positive comments today, at least around Canada and Mexico. That may be outweighing some of the things that Bessent said on the weekend.
You could also argue it’s plain, old bottom fishing and FOMO but whatever it is, the bids are solid right now. I don’t mind it as I think the tariffs will soon be rolled back.