US Markets buoyed by strong GDP report
ll three major US indexes were up at the end of trading on Thursday after a volatile early morning. Investors were processing a barrage of economic data, including strong GDP growth countered by data showing the labor market is still tight, and mixed corporate earnings. All of which could indicate what the Federal Reserve will do next week when it meets.
The general consensus is that central bank policymakers will raise interest rates by a quarter percentage point which ha been priced into shares. However, not everyone is convinced.
“The economic data had something in it for everybody; for the dreamers who think the economy is just slow enough to put the Fed on hold and the pessimists who think growth is still too hot for the Fed to step away,” David Carter, managing director at JPMorgan Private Bank in New York told Reuters. “Hope is not an investment strategy, and the economic facts could soon weigh on the market. The biggest uncertainty is what will happen in the back half of this year,” he added.