A dovish Federal Reserve and accelerating growth abroad are weighing on the dollar, a move that could be a boon for stocks and other assets. The U.S. Dollar Currency Index is down 4% from its 2021 peak, making the greenback the worst performer of the world’s major currencies so far this quarter. By contrast, the .
Opinion: The US equity market has all the makings of a ’grey rhino’ – a term coined by Michele Wucker and defined as ’not random surprises, but occur after a series of warnings and visible evidence’.
Inflation is almost certainly the hottest topic in finance nearly five months into 2021.
Currently, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) isn’t rising at an alarming rate, but the combination of rampant government stimulus, soaring commodities prices, and supply shortages, among other issues, has some market observers convinced material CPI increases are merely a matter of time.
As Nationwide’s Mark Hackett points out, recent market action isn’t unhealthy.
“Equity markets have entered a choppy period, with the S&P 500® Index unchanged since mid-April, as the tug-of-war between strong fundamentals and inflation worries continues,” he writes. “Following the extraordinary rally since the March 2020 bottom and particularly since November, a period of consolidation for the market is not unexpected or unhealthy. Markets are likely to continue in a saw-tooth pattern until we grow into our valuation.”