Nobody likes surprises, especially Wall Street. The market’s entire purpose is to price in information. And with the huge surprise twist in the Presidential election, the market’s got a huge dose of uncertainty.
At least at first, by the end of the week, traders grasped what a Donald Trump presidency would mean. And that was the flow of easy money courtesy of a low interest rate from the Federal Reserve. (Please check out how the markets did last week here.)
The data for the week seemed to support a tame view from the Fed and helped support stocks’ huge runup. Measures of consumer health, housing and labor came in rather muted for the week. That continued light performing data might be enough ammo the Fed needs to keep rates right where they are.
As for earnings, the wind-down of earnings season is also helping drive returns. The results from many companies have changed from just making profits to actually seeing some positive forward guidance. However, that positive guidance has come with a dose of cynicism and uncertainty.
In the end, the week proved positive as traders looked forward to having an easy source of money to play with.
