Stocks End Mixed, More Inflation Data On Tap For Friday  Image: Bigstock Stocks closed mixed yesterday with the Dow and the S&P ending modestly lower, while the Nasdaq and small-cap Russell 2000 ended modestly higher. Stocks bounced at the open. And after a brief dip, were higher again in the afternoon. But by late afternoon they were back in the red, before finishing mixed by the close. Yesterday's MBA Mortgage Applications fell by -13.3% w/w, with purchases off by -18.1%, and refi's off by -2.2%. The State Street Investor Confidence Index increased by 1.1 points to 77.5. The Asian component was up 5.8 points at 98.2. The European component was up 4.1 points at 106.4. But the North American component slipped by -0.3 points to 72.8. But the news everyone was waiting for was the FOMC Minutes. And they showed the Fed was steadfast in their resolve to keep raising rates until they had the "confidence that inflation was on a downward path to 2%, which was likely to take some time." Adding that they worried that an "insufficiently restrictive" policy stance could "halt recent progress in moderating inflationary pressures." None of this was new news as this was consistent with what Fed Chair, Jerome Powell, shared at the last FOMC Announcement. At the last meeting, after voting to raise rates by 25 basis points to a target range of 4.50%-4.75% (midpoint of 4.63%), they suggested that a "couple more" increases were still likely to come. If so, that would be in alignment with their terminal rate forecast of 5.1%. The next Fed meeting is in 3½ weeks on March 22. But before that, we'll get another look at inflation with Friday's (2/24), Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCI) index, which is the Fed's preferred inflation gauge. Today we'll get Weekly Jobless Claims, the second estimate of Q4 GDP, and the Chicago Fed National Activity Index. Before the pullback over the last couple of weeks, the Dow, the small-cap Russell 2000, and the mid-cap S&P 400, all exited their bear market by gaining more than 20% from last year's October lows. In spite of the recent volatility, stocks are still up sharply from those levels. Those who bought in at or near those lows are sitting on fantastic gains. As the saying goes, "buy when everyone is selling."
Granted, that's easier said than done. But there's a certain group of investors that you should definitely be following as they have an uncanny ability to get into the right stocks at just the right time. To learn all about who these investors are and how you can see what they're up to, be sure to read our latest commentary... Buy When Everyone Is Selling Best,  Kevin Matras
Executive Vice President, Zacks Investment Research | 
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