• September 18, 2024

Fed cut allowing homebuyers to 'get off the fence': Brokers

The Federal Reserve cut interest rates by 50 basis points and Chair Jerome Powell said the central bank expects the housing market to normalize alongside rates. Compass Real Estate brokers Tom Postilio and Mickey Conlon join Josh Lipton on Asking for a Trend to discuss what the rate cut means for the US real estate market. Postilio tells Yahoo Finance the real estate industry is “popping the champagne bottle, because for the last three years it's just been a lot of headwinds,” but the “half a point is big news.” “August is typically a very sleepy month, [but this year] it was on fire,” Conlon says, explaining that typically there’s less interest in buying a home during the fall season, especially ahead of a presidential election. “We hit the ground running, and that's all in anticipation of today's announcement,” as it seems people have put aside any election worries aside “because there's so much pent-up demand and there has been for three years” and “this announcement gave [buyers] permission to get off the fence," Conlon states. Postilio finds this increase in demand activity has been “across the board,” but the luxury sector stands out. Compass Real Estate saw the most signed contracts in the week following Labor Day in nearly two decades, he reports. “Low inventory and high interest rates” have been “an absolute disaster for first-time buyers because it's really priced them out of the market,” Conlon notes, indicating that the rate cut could help address alleviate these challenges. For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Asking for a Trend. This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.

  • September 18, 2024

S&P 500, Gold Strike All-Time Highs, Small Caps Rally After Fed Slashes Interest Rates For First Time In 4 Years (UPDATED)

Editor’s note: This story has been updated with additional information. Markets are bouncing Wednesday afternoon following the Federal Reserve’s decision to cut rates by 0.5%, marking the beginning of the central bank’s highly anticipated cutting cycle. What To Know: Wednesday’s 0.5% rate cut brings the target fed funds rate to a new range between 4.75% and 5%, down from a 23-year high of 5.25% to 5.5%. It’s also the first rate cut since March 2020. The fed funds rate has been sitting at a range

  • September 18, 2024

Tech stocks have 'a bit further to go' in 2024: Strategist

Truist co-chief investment officer and chief market strategist Keith Lerner believes tech stocks will run even higher in the fourth quarter, despite seasonal volatility (^VIX) that could persist. Lerner joins Madison Mills and Brad Smith on Morning Brief to examine how the tech sector could see late 2024 gains driven by earnings. "I think partly is that the earnings momentum is still with tech," he says, adding in his view tech stocks have "overextended positioning," so "what you've really been seeing in the last maybe month or two is really kind of getting some of that excess sentiment wrung out from the sector." Tech stocks have "a bit further to go," and "as we get into the earnings season, in a cooling economy, tech on the earnings front still outperforms. He adds "That will drive investors back to tech" because "that's the part of this bull market." For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Morning Brief. This post was written by Naomi Buchanan.

  • September 18, 2024

Federal Reserve Chair Powell Highlights Strong Economy and Commitment to Sustained Growth

According to Odaily, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell emphasized the overall strength of the economy and the commitment to maintaining robust economic development. Today, the Federal Reserve has reduced the extent of its policy tightening. Powell stated that today's decision reflects growing confidence in the sustained strong performance of the labor market. He noted that the labor market has cooled from its previous overheated state. Additionally, consumer spending has shown resilience.