TDAmeritrade

It’s Employment Report day, a day that often marks the biggest economic news of the month. This time around, however, the report might get the bronze medal, behind the Fed meeting and yesterday’s tariff bombshell. For the most part, the jobs report fell in line with expectations (see...

The past two days have delivered two huge bombshells for markets. On Wednesday, the Fed announced its decision to cut the interest rate by 25 basis points, which most investors expected. But yesterday, another more unexpected market driver entered the field when President Trump tweeted about...

There’s an old saying that the market is a greedy beast and always wants more. Proof of that might be yesterday’s session, when stocks cratered despite the Fed lowering interest rates. The problem? Many investors wanted the Fed to signal the start of a prolonged rate-cutting cycle, not...

After the rate cut from the Fed yesterday, equity index futures are up ahead of a long day of earnings. Some of the names reporting today are Wayfair Inc (NYSE: W) in the premarket, and Etsy Inc (NASDAQ: ETSY), Pinterest Inc (NYSE: PINS), and Square Inc (NYSE: SQ) in the...

After a decade without cutting interest rates, the Fed announced a quarter-point easing Wednesday and also ended its balance sheet reduction program earlier than expected.  However, stocks fell sharply after the decision, possibly because in its post-meeting statement and press conference, the...

If there’s a “third rail” for Wall Street, it’s anyone mentioning 2008. That was the year stocks crashed, and also the last time the Fed cut rates.  Things couldn’t be more different now, with major indices at record highs and the U.S. economy showing plenty of...

In many countries, August is a sleepy month where people leave town for vacation. Some U.S. investors might be traveling, too. But anyone who escapes to the mountains this August might miss the market’s reaction to events ranging from an anticipated Fed rate cut to Apple Inc (NASDAQ:...

So, the Fed is going to cut rates. What’s the big deal? The most innocuous explanation for today’s actions by Jay Powell is that inflation hasn’t continuously hit the Fed’s target and therefore they are adding a little more gas to the fire to get there. Dovish central banks...

Watching stocks during a Fed meeting week is normally like watching paint dry. That’s the way it was Monday, as investors seemed shy about taking big new positions ahead of a rate decision. Today, however, there’s a lot of other stuff that might take peoples’ eyes away from Fed...

If you’re looking for a sector that arguably serves as the number-one barometer of U.S./China trade relations, semiconductors could be a contender. As trade talks get underway this week after a nearly three-month break, the PHLX Semiconductor Index (SOX) charged ahead. It surpassed the 2019...

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee begins a two-day meeting today with an announcement on interest rates due tomorrow at 2 PM ET. Expectations are for a 25 basis-point rate cut and the equity market has already priced this in when looking at the rally over the last two months. The market...

Earnings season is upon us! As the markets score fresh all-time highs, investors will be closely watching whether this year’s strongest sector, technology, can continue its 30% YTD run. More importantly, the FAANG stocks have failed to keep pace, causing some investors to question whether the...

Can a stock with almost $1 trillion in market cap ever have a quiet 30% rally? Arguably, that’s the case with Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) so far this year, as the stock continues to recover from its late-2018 swoon despite an undercurrent of concerns ranging from falling iPhone demand to...

A Fed meeting. Apple earnings. The monthly payrolls report. Renewed talks with China. This week has it all, and it starts with the stock market at all-time highs after solid results late last week from Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG), Starbucks Corporation (NASDAQ: SBUX), and Twitter Inc...

Traders, heads up, because this could be a big week for markets. I think it goes without saying all eyes will be on the FOMC meeting decision Wednesday, the Q&A session to follow, and comments from Fed chair Jerome Powell. But in addition to rates, we have Personal Income and Spending data due...