Markets Insights

Encouraging inflation data (PCE) helped lift sentiment, reinforcing hope for continued interest rate cuts.

The Fed’s meeting on September 16-17 was front and center. Markets largely expected a 25 basis point cut, and commentary/trends pointed toward more cuts later in the year.

Softer inflation signals, less-robust labor reports, and mixed economic data reinforced market expectations that the Fed will cut rates at its next policy meeting.

Tesla plans to grant Musk up to 423.7 million performance-based restricted shares — about 12% of the company's current shares — split into 12 equal tranches.

Buffett plans to step down as Berkshire CEO at year’s end after 60 years at the helm. He leaves an extraordinary legacy as an investor and manager.

Defense spending is set to rise around the globe, but picking defense-stock winners amid increasingly complex threats, changing global alliances, and the proliferation of artificial-intelligence-trained unmanned systems isn’t easy.

Rotation is very important at this point in the market. It builds a strong foundation to fuel the next move up or it uses up excess capital and traps longs at or near the top.

Strong earnings, Fed rate cut optimism, and strength in tech stocks propelled markets higher.

Market optimism was fueled by trade optimism: the US and EU agreed on a framework to reduce EU import tariffs to 15%, easing geopolitical fears. Reuters

Investor exuberance is rising, especially in meme stocks like Kohl’s and Opendoor, which saw massive gains on short squeezes.