Weekly Market Recap Jan 20, 2019

After entering the week quite overbought, indexes took a small retreat Monday before hurling back upwards.  This is typical of the “V” shaped moves up after any significant selloff, we’ve seen most of the past decade and watching them unfurl is quite amazing actually.  Thought maybe this time would be “different” but not so much.  So two week’s ago we asked “Has the Fed solved all the market’s problem in 1 speech?” – and thus far the market has answered resoundingly yes.  The word of the year thus far in 2019 is “patience” as that simple insert into a speech change the whole complexion of everything.

China has also been busy stimulating; on Tuesday:

An announcement from the People’s Bank of China that it would increase efforts to spur their economy by improving credit availability for smaller companies and a pledge by the Chinese Ministry of Finance to cut taxes and ramp up infrastructure spending helped to buoy market sentiment.  The comments come a day after China’s trade data came in weaker than expected, underlining worries that the country’s economy was locked in a downturn that could weigh on global expansion amid a protracted tariff spat between China and the U.S.

Thursday, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Trump administration was debating whether to ease tariffs on Chinese imports in a bid to calm markets.  Meanwhile Friday, a Bloomberg report said that Chinese officials have offered to increase imports from the U.S. by $1 trillion over the next six years, a plan that would reportedly bring the U.S. trade deficit with China to zero by 2024.