US Stock Market Overview – Stocks Rally Following Fed Meeting, Apple Continues to Rally

US stocks were mixed on Wednesday led by a surge in Apple shares that continued to rally following stronger than expected financial results released after the bell on Tuesday. The stock has rallied more than 100% since the beginning of 2019 and continues to hit the cover off the ball. Apple rallied more than 2.5% on Wednesday buoying equities. The Fed left interest rates unchanged on Wednesday at their monetary policy meeting as widely expected.

Most of the commentary was expected. Business investment moved moderately higher along with consumer spending. The labor market is running well but could be affected along with the rest of the global economy if the coronavirus becomes and epidemic.  Fed chair Powell said that inflation was running below the Fed’s target and they are not content with this outcome. This could mean that the Fed is okay with rising asset prices. US Pending home sales dropped more than expected in December. The Fed said that they will adjust bond purchases over time and will adjust money market plans as conditions warrant. The Red also said that they would have ample reserve by the Q2 of 2020.

Sectors in the S&P 500 index were mixed, with materials leading the markets higher. Energy bucked the trend.

Future Contracts for Home Sales Drop

Pending home sales dropped 4.9% in December compared with November. Sales were projected to rise 1% month to month. December is historically the slowest month of the year. Despite the month-to-month drop, though, 2019 ended up slightly stronger than the year before. Pending home sales were 4.6% higher last month than in December 2018, according to the National Association of Realtors. Regionally, pending sales in the Northeast fell 4% for the month and were 0.1% lower than a year ago.