Economics
Stock Market Strains Send Message the Fed Doesn't Want to Hear
- Its fingerprints are visible in banks, homebuilders, cyclicals
- There’s no huge reason to assume the Fed cares about equities
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Donald Trump loves to bash Jerome Powell, blaming him for the market meltdown. And while people can debate if the hectoring is a good idea and whether the Federal Reserve cares about stocks, it’s getting harder to argue the president is totally wrong.
Signs of Fed-fomented stress are everywhere, from slumping bank stocks to the 33 percent plunge in home builders since January. They’re in the market’s newfound willingness to differentiate between defensive and cyclical stocks, a bias absent from past meltdowns. They’re in the giant yawn greeting stellar earnings, evidence investors have something else on their mind.