The Weekly Market Compass #2
It’s been a rough week for markets. Wall Street had plenty to pay attention to this week as the Israel-Hamas war continued to play out with fears of a regional escalation increasing by the day.
Meanwhile back in the US, congress staggered along with no clear leadership and no signs of being able to elect a speaker anytime soon. The focus was also on earnings season with the major banks Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and Bank of America (BAC) reporting and sending mixed signals. BAC surprised positively while Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley presented results that reflected an overall challenging market environment.
The big news however was the economy as US retail sales came in much higher than anticipated at 0.7% MoM for September 2023 versus the 0.3% forecast. In other words, the US economy is still running strong despite higher borrowing costs and higher prices.
While it's important to remember that a single data point does not make a trend, this has…