Broker Daily Summary 20221219

?? *US equities closed lower for 3rd straight session amidst recession fears*

*19 December 2022*
???? Nasdaq 100 Index 11243.72, (-0.89%)↓
???? S&P 500 Index 3852.13, (-1.12%)↓
???? Dow Jones Indus Avg Index 32920.46, (-0.85%)↓

???? US stocks fell for the 3rd straight session and logged a 2nd straight weekly loss as investors fear that an over-aggressive Fed may tip the economy into a recession. All 11 sectors ended in a sea of red, with *Real Estate* and *Consumer Discretionary* leading shares lower. The *VIX (-0.21%)* dipped to 22.62.

???? A slew of hawkish comments by Fed officials helped reinforce the "higher for longer" rate hike regime. *St.Louis Fed President Mary Daly* said in a virtual meeting that the Fed still has a "long way" to go to curb inflation and that rates could stay at their peak level into 2024. *New York Fed President John Williams* stated that a tight labor market could keep price pressures elevated and warrant higher interest rates; adding that "demand exceeds supply in our labor market" and that the "real issue is how do we get it all the way to 2%". Lastly, *Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester* said that "we have to continue to raise rates because we have more to do on inflation". Nevertheless, *markets are currently pricing in a terminal rate of around 4.8%, with rate cuts by November 2023 to end next year at 4.4%*. Preliminary PMI results came in worse than expected across the board, with *Manufacturing PMI* at 46.2 while *Services PMI* was 44.4, both signalling a contraction in the economy.

????? *Goldman Sachs (-0.99%)* slumped amidst reports that the Wall Street firm will be slashing up to 8% of its workforce. *Ford (-6.98%)* fell after hiking prices for its F-150 Lightning pickup due to rising raw material costs. *Adobe (+2.99%)* rose after the photoshop maker reported better than expected Q4 earnings and profit guidance. *Exact Sciences (+16.39%)* jumped after rival *Guardant Health (-27.14%)* tumbled following results which revealed that Guardant's cancer tests were less effective. *General Motors (-3.91%)* dropped after US regulators opened a safety probe against the firm's autonomous robotaxi unit Cruise.