Investors are betting on another rate hike in May

Wall Street finished mixed yesterday

Monday has been a positive day for the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 while the Nasdaq closed slightly negative.

The S&P 500 finished at +0.1%, the Nasdaq ended the trading session at -0.03% and the Dow Jones closed at +0.3%.

Yesterday, was the first occasion for traders to react to the latest data about the US labour market because the market has been closed during the Easter holidays.

The investors’ sentiment is Greed, as indicated in the graph below:

Sentiment indicator – Fear & Greed Index

The market sentiment is 61, in “Greed” mode. Last week the sentiment was Neutral, so it is improving.

Another rate hike is expected

Last Friday, the US Labour Department released the latest data about the job market for March.

U.S. Nonfarm Payrolls data have shown an increase of 236,000 new job positions last month, less than the previous month and less than the economist’s predictions.

The US Unemployment Rate for March has also been published last Friday and it was 3.5%, 0.1% down from the previous reading.

The labour market has started to slow down, based on the recent data, but that is not enough for the investors that are now betting on another interest rate increase of the Federal Reserve to fight inflation which is also caused by the strong job market.

As shown in the graph below 66.4% of traders are expecting another rate hike of 0.25% at the next Fed meeting on 3 May.

The remaining 33.6% of investors are forecasting a no-rate increase at the next FOMC.

What to watch today

Today, there is no important data to watch and the market should not be volatile because everyone is expecting the release of the consumer inflation data tomorrow and the producer price inflation on Thursday.

The Fed’s final decision regarding the next monetary policy action will be, however, influenced by the above data.

Portfolio update

I remain neutral and cautious about the stock market since the trend is not clearly defined.

I hold long and short stock positions and aim to profit regardless of the market direction.

If you are already copying my portfolio, please keep the copy open.

If you are thinking of copying me, now could be the right time, if you can invest for the long term (years).

Remember to copy the open trades to optimize the copy.

Remember to set the stop loss on the copy at the minimum level, so you don’t get stopped if there is a correction.

Thank you, everyone. Have a nice day!

Steps to follow to copy my portfolio automatically:

1. Create an eToro account here: https://federicamontella.com/go/etoro/

2. Verify your account and make a deposit of at least 200 USD (you can deposit in any currency, like GBP and EUR)

3. Go to my profile page: https://federicamontella.com/go/etoro-passionforprofit/

4. Start the copy (copy open trades and set the lowest stop loss possible, to allow some movement)

5. Enjoy, it’s all automatic. You will make passive income 24/7

Let me know if you have any questions.

 

Federica Montella

eToro Popular Investor

 

Follow me on social media

LinkedIn

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

eToro Disclaimer

eToro is a multi-asset platform which offers both investing in stocks and cryptoassets, as well as trading CFDs.

Please note that CFDs are complex instruments and come with a high risk of losing money rapidly due to leverage. {etoroCFDrisk}% of retail investor accounts lose money when trading CFDs with this provider. You should consider whether you understand how CFDs work, and whether you can afford to take the high risk of losing your money.

Past performance is not an indication of future results. Trading history presented is less than 5 complete years and may not suffice as basis for investment decision.

Copy Trading does not amount to investment advice. The value of your investments may go up or down. Your capital is at risk.

Cryptoasset investing is highly volatile and unregulated in some EU countries. No consumer protection. Tax on profits may apply.

eToro USA LLC does not offer CFDs and makes no representation and assumes no liability as to the accuracy or completeness of the content of this publication, which has been prepared by our partner utilizing publicly available non-entity specific information about eToro.

Crypto Investing Risk Warning

Crypto assets are highly volatile. Your capital is at risk.
Don’t invest unless you’re prepared to lose all the money you invest.
This is a high-risk investment, and you should not expect to be protected if something goes wrong.

Read the full disclaimer

Sign up to receive my latest articles in your inbox

I agree that my data is used according to the privacy policy



Author: Federica Montella
eToro Popular Investor, food lover and blogger. Stock trader and Popular Investor at eToro. I am on a mission to find the best restaurants and food to eat.