The Quarter in Brief

Article by Sam Sweitzer

The stock market kicked off the fourth quarter with a powerful rally in October and added to those gains into November until investors were blindsided by news of the emergence of a new COVID-19 variant, Omicron, and testimony by Fed Chair Jerome Powell that escalating inflation and an improving labor market warranted consideration of an acceleration of its bond purchase tapering plans.

Markets, as a rule, do not like surprises and uncertainty and the combination of a new variant and a suddenly more hawkish Fed sent stocks into a skid that largely erased the November’s accumulated gains. Market reaction to the Omicron news was exacerbated by when the news hit – on Black Friday, a day that typically provides less liquidity since many investors and trades are on holiday.

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Anson Update:

Periodically, we combine the latest information about the economy as well as updates from our office at Anson Analytics.