Market Taking a Pause for Now
US equity markets continue to trade sideways as investors are digesting mixed inflation data. Interestingly, this pause also lines up with historical trends for the month of February:
Sectors within the S&P 500 are also showing mixed signals, indicating that the market is taking more of a pause:
Longer-term trends are still in place, favoring growth names over value:
The US dollar has been showing some short-term strength. Whether this is the start of another move upward, or just an oversold bounce has yet to be seen. But it has been having a negative impact on US equities:
For now, investors seem to be taking a “pause” to see what the US dollar will do next, and if the historical patterns emerge in March – which favors a strong move upward from here.
John Rothe, CMT