Morning Brief – March 17, 2022

By Editor•

The Fed just raised rates by a quarter point.

Along with the hike, the central bank is penciling in another six rate hikes this year, bringing us to about 1.75% to 2%. For 2023, we could see another three hikes, with no hikes in 2024.

“In a statement following its two-day meeting, the Fed hinted at rising concern about inflationary pressures. It said inflation has been high due to ‘broader price pressures’ and added that the war in Ukraine and ‘related events are likely to create additional upward pressure on inflation,’” as quoted by The Wall Street Journal.

With rates on the rise, where should we invest?

One of the top sectors to keep an eye on are financials.

That’s because the sector is among the most sensitive to changes in interest rates. When rates climb, margins expand, which is good for banks, brokerage firms, and money managers.

Read more here.

Markets

  • The Dow is down 90 points to 33,864
  • The S&P 500 is down about 11 points to 4,338.75
  • The NASDAQ is down 41 points to 13,909.75
  • Gold prices are up $14.14 to $1,941.51
  • Bitcoin is up about 1% to $40,924.41
  • Oil prices are up $5.67 to $100.70
  • The VIX down 3.02 points to 26.81

 

Trading Tips

The pandemic is getting worse – again.

While COVID tensions cooled in the U.S. that may not be the case for much longer.

In fact, experts are warning the U.S. could see another spike in cases, with some wastewater samples showing an increase in infections.

According to the U.S. CDC, as noted by People, “The U.S. is also starting to see an increase of COVID-19 in wastewater samples, a strong early predictor of when the virus is about to spike. Between Feb. 24 and March 10, the presence of COVID-19 increased by 100% or more in 37% of U.S. wastewater sites, according to the Centers for Disease Control’s tracking system.”

Read more here.

Insider Buying – Procore Technologies (PCOR)

Procore Technologies, Inc. provides a cloud-based construction management platform and related software products in the United States and internationally. The company’s platform enables owners, general and specialty contractors, architects, and engineers to collaborate on construction projects. 

After plummeting from a high of about $105 to $57.55, Director William Griffith bought 512,238 shares at $52.11 for $26.69 million on March 15.  On March 14, he bought 661,720 shares of PCOR for $33.04 million at an average price of $49.93.  From those prices, he’s already doing well with the PCOR stock up 8% on Wednesday.