Markets: The market pulled back this week, as investors grew cautious ahead of this coming week’s Fed meeting, at which there will probably be a 25 basis point rate hike announced. Small Caps lagged, falling nearly -2%, while the market-leading NASDAQ merely slipped -.15%.
Dividend Stocks Update: These high dividend stocks go ex-dividend this coming week: Preferred Apartment Communities Inc (NYSE:APTS), BCE Inc. (NYSE:BCE), Iron Mountain Incorporated (NYSE:IRM), Garmin Ltd (NASDAQ:GRMN), MHI Hospitality C (NASDAQ:SOHO), Frontier Communications Corporation (NASDAQ:FTR), Five Oaks (NYSE:OAKS), Harvest Capital Credit Corporation (NASDAQ:HCAP), Medical Properties Trust Inc (NYSE:MPW), Oxbridge Re Holdings Ltd (NASDAQ:OXBR), Apollo Investment Corp (NASDAQ:AINV).
Volatility: The VIX rose 6.4% this week, finishing at $11.66.
Currency: The USD rose vs. most major currencies, except the euro, for the 2nd straight week, with the strong probability of a Fed rate hike next week:
Market Breadth: 7 of the Dow 30 stocks rose this week, vs. 18 last week. 35% of the S&P 500 rose, vs. 57% last week.
US Economic News: Non-Farm Payrolls surprised to the upside, coming in at 235K, far above the 188K forecast. Job gains occurred in construction, private educational services, manufacturing, health care,and mining. Employment gains in December and January combined were 9,000 more than previously reported. The unemployment rate fell to 4.7%. Hourly Earnings rose .2%, a 2.4% annualized rate. Consumer spending.
Week Ahead Highlights: The Fed meets next week, and we’ll probably see a rate hike, given the positive Payrolls report for February, and other ongoing positive economic data.
Next Week’s US Economic Reports:
Sectors & Futures: Tech led this week, with Real Estate trailing.
Crude Oil futures fell over -9% this week, while Natural Gas gained again, for the 2nd week in a row.
