What Jackson Hole Means for the Stocks and the Economy

29 thg 8, 2022

Stocks swiftly sold off as the markets digested comments from the Jackson Hole retreat. This is a gathering of central bankers from around the world, and while no 'official' policy decisions are made, the markets pay great attention to comments made by key members. In particular, Jerome Powell came off sufficiently more Hawkish than anticipated, and the markets reacted as such. The dollar soared past highs along with bond yields and stocks tanked. Powell even said that Americans should expect 'pain' which was a particular somber note and drove the selloff further. At this point a 75bps or even a 100bps rate hike are not off the table for September. Also, particular mention was given to how rate hikes may impact the labor market, with some sources suggesting it could cost up to 4 million jobs. The S&P 500 tumbled to the base of the 4K handle at our very last level at 4009, a level we have been identifying for weeks. If this level breaks, we will return to the 3K's again, with 3978 and 3963 the next levels of support.