There is now a 38% chance of a rate hike at the July FOMC and a 0% chance of a rate cut
Source: Barchart
Bloomberg's Michael Ball notes that material flows through Hormuz creates a different problem for crude,
Especially in Asia, as too much supply hits a region that has already adapted to fewer Middle East barrels. Asian refiners replaced disrupted Middle East barrels with US crude and other alternatives, cut some processing runs when prices rose and are now facing a sudden wave of Persian Gulf supply. This has led Middle Eastern crude curves to flip into bearish contango, showing the market is pricing a near-term glut rather than shortage. Source: Bloomberg, zerohedge
The S&P 500 has fallen under every single new Fed chair in their first 90 days.
Kevin Warsh chairs his first FOMC meeting today. The historical data goes back nearly a century across 12 Fed chairs. The average drawdown in the first three months of a new Fed chair is -12%. The worst was Alan Greenspan at -33%. The best was Ben Bernanke at -2%. Jerome Powell's first 90 days saw a -7% drawdown. Janet Yellen's saw -4%. Not one single new Fed chair has avoided a drawdown in their first three months. Warsh's 90-day clock starts today. Source: Bull Theory
US macro numbers today: Retail Sales came in higher than estimates across the board along with Pending Home Sales, while Business Inventories was in-line.
Source: Bespoke
Big shift in Fed dot plots with the median member now forecasting 1 rate HIKE this year when previously they were forecasting 1 rate CUT. (Clone)
The stock market may not like it but this is the right move if the Fed wants to regain any credibility as an inflation fighter. Source: Charlie Bilello @charliebilello
Kevin Warsh just chaired his first FOMC meeting. The Fed held rates at 3.5–3.75% (unanimous). No surprise there. The surprise was everything around it.
𝗙𝗼𝗿𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗴𝘂𝗶𝗱𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲. Under Powell, the Fed told markets what was coming. Warsh refused. The dots, he said, are written "in pencil." He didn't even submit his own forecast. 𝗔 𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗮𝘀𝘁. He pledged to "fix five years of misses on inflation" — a rare, direct critique of the prior Fed. The 2% target stays. The closing line, repeated all conference: "The Committee will deliver price stability." 𝗔 𝗵𝗮𝘄𝗸𝗶𝘀𝗵 𝗱𝗼𝘁 𝗽𝗹𝗼𝘁. 9 of 18 officials now see at least one HIKE by end-2026 — and 6 of them see multiple. Just one sees a cut. 𝗙𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝘁𝗮𝘀𝗸 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗰𝗲𝘀. Communications, the balance sheet, data, productivity & jobs, and inflation frameworks — everything under review except the 2% target. Deliverables possible by year-end. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗮𝗿𝗸𝗲𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻? ~$1.5 trillion erased across equities, metals and crypto in 10 minutes — with NO rate change. S&P 500 −1.2% • Nasdaq −1.35% • Gold −2.22% • Silver −3.95% • Bitcoin −1.8% The takeaway: this was a hawkish shock delivered through tone, not action. A Fed that stops pre-announcing its moves is a Fed that just reintroduced volatility as a feature, not a bug. The Powell put on certainty is over. Markets are still repricing what that means. What's your read — disciplined return to price stability, or a communication vacuum that markets will punish?
US tech and tech-related stocks now reflect nearly 60% of the total stock market cap, an all-time RECORD.
At the same time, defensive stocks account for just 15%, an all-time LOW. Not even the 2000 Dot-Com BUBBLE saw such a divergence with tech peaking at ~50% while defensives remained above 20%. Has a new era of equity market performance come, or are defensive stocks going to catch up over the years? Source: Topdown charts, Global Markets Investor @GlobalMktObserv
We've only had three Fed chairs experience their first "Fed Day" with markets open prior to Warsh yesterday.
All three times, the S&P was higher heading into the 2 PM rate decision only to finish in the red on the day. Warsh was no different as all main US equity indices finished in the red after his (rather hawkish) statement yesterday... Source: Bespoke
