HAPPY TWO-YEAR B-DAY BULL MARKET - HERE’S TO A THIRD!
Quincy Krosby, PhD, Chief Global Strategist, LPL Financial
Joshua Cline, Associate Analyst, LPL Financial
On October 12, 2022, there were very few comments suggesting that a new bull market was in the throes of being born as the S&P 500 opened at 3,590.83 and closed at 3,577.03.
After all, inflation was still running hot even though the Federal Reserve (Fed) began its rate-hiking campaign on March 16, 2022, by raising rates by 25 basis points (0.25%) and moving to a 50-basispoint hike on May 5, 2022, as it tried to quell inflationary pressures. By mid-June, a series of 75- basis-point hikes were introduced as the Consumer Price Index (CPI) peaked in June at 9.1%.
The October 13 rally that ended the bear market at a low of 3,577.03 began with the S&P 500 selling off in the morning only to rally dramatically higher into the market close. The CPI report earlier in the day showed headline inflation at 8.2% on a year-over-year basis, but Core CPI ─ not including food and fuel prices ─ beat the consensus estimate at 6.6%. The S&P 500 closed at 3,669.91 and the bull market had commenced.