Stocks are waiting for more clarity on economic growth and inflation

〽️Stocks are waiting for more clarity on economic growth and inflation📈

 

North American equities seesawed on Wednesday as investors assessed the continuous comments from US central bank officials on the outlook of the US economy and the path of interest rates. US S&P 500 and tech-heavy Nasdaq were little changed, while Canada’s S&P/TSX Composite shed 0.75%. 

 

Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell noted earlier that US Fed is committed to bringing down inflation, but the process will likely cause some economic pain. Volatility continues to be embedded in the market as the central bank increases the interest rates to tame inflation. Still, at the same time, the higher borrowing cost will slow economic growth.

 

Many believe pandemic-era froth on the equities has come off, but how much of the bad news and the risk of recession has been priced in the financial markets is not clear.

 

On the other side, the crypto market is going through a crypto winter, with Bitcoin and Ethereum losing 32% and 39% of their value in one month. 

 

Oil prices remain less volatile, around 110 a barrel, and the US dollar has maintained its strong stance at 1.29 against the Canadian dollar.