S&P 500, Nasdaq eke out gains | Fed meeting minutes on addressing inflation

S&P 500, Nasdaq eke out gains | Fed meeting minutes on addressing inflation | Cathie Wood’s aggressive strategy

WED, NOV 24, 2021

EVENING BRIEF

AS OF WED, NOV 24, 2021 • 04:57 ET

DJIA		35804.38
		-0.03%	-9.42

S&P 500		4701.46
		+0.23%	+10.76

NASDAQ		15845.23
		+0.44%	+70.09

Most Active

DOW
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
AAPL	161.94	+0.53	+0.33%
INTC	49.76	+0.66	+1.34%
MSFT	337.91	+0.23	+0.07%

S&P 500
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
F	20.25	+0.05	+0.25%
AAPL	161.94	+0.53	+0.33%
AMD	157.80	+7.88	+5.26%

NASDAQ
NAME	LAST	CHG	%CHG
AAPL	161.94	+0.53	+0.33%
AMD	157.80	+7.88	+5.26%
NVDA	326.74	+9.28	+2.92%

EDITOR'S NOTE

It has been an uninspiring week on Wall Street, which has seen Treasury yields rise and stocks struggle since President Joe Biden announced on Monday morning that he would renominate Jerome Powell as Fed Chair. The tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite has been a particular weak point, falling more than 1% for the week so far — even with an outperformance on Wednesday.

However, that doesn't mean that Powell is seen as bad news for stocks. In fact, his tenure has been one of the best on record for stocks, according to Ryan Detrick of LPL Financial.

"There are many reasons for Jerome Powell to lead the Fed for another four years," Detrick said in a note to clients. "But one of the best could very well be that stocks have done quite well under his leadership. Do you really think he'd still be in charge if stocks did poorly under him? 'Probably not' is the answer there."

LPL's research shows that Dow Jones Industrial Average has gained 40% during Powell's tenure, ranking in the middle of other Fed chairs. If the average rises by a similar amount during his second term, Powell would move ahead of his two predecessors: Ben Bernanke and Janet Yellen.

There are already signs that Powell's second term, if he is confirmed again by the Senate, will be much different from the last four years, which were marked by emergency measures during the Covid pandemic. On Wednesday, the Fed released the minutes from its November meeting, showing that central bankers are preparing to possibly speed up the tapering process and hike rates sooner than some expect if inflation remains high.