US Stock Rally Cools: Fitch Ratings Raises Concerns Over Banking Sector

Summer holidays are still on. Liquidity is thin, and we are all getting bored.

The US stock rally has taken a beating over the last few weeks, even with CPI numbers yet again surprised positively, with the year-over-year number coming in at 3.2%, contrary to 3.3% as expected by analysts.

From a price perspective, both the S&P and the Nasdaq look like they are technically rolling over after the S&P valuation came just short of 5% away from reaching the previous all-time high.

Predictions by analysts show a mere 39% chance of one more rate hike during this year, reinforced by the Fed’s statement that “inflation is likely to be subdued for some time” following the FOMC meeting last week.

Lastly, Fitch Ratings didn’t provide additional optimism as the rating bureau indicated earlier in the week that it might soon downgrade the credit ratings of several banks, including tier-1 banks such as JP Morgan and Bank of America.

Crypto Calm Before the Storm? Prices Waver Amidst Inactivity

The crypto market remains dull, with BTC taking a dive of almost 5% over the last, with most altcoins performing even worse than that.

Overall, the market continues to trade in the same range as it has done for almost half a year. Typically these prolonged periods of compressed price actions lead to rather violent swings, and for now, that swing looks likely to be to the downside even though a number of indicators are also showing positivity.

Personally, I’m not too interested in doing much in the wake of what is going on right now, as even a retest of the last five months’ low would not mean anything materially different for the ongoing trend, even if it would feel devastating.

Image source: Kaiko

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