After Yellen and the FOMC announced they were not raising interest rates, the market rallied. Free money wins once again. SPX ran up $11 to $2027 and RUT rallied $8 to close at $1075. Volatility pulled back with the VIX losing almost two points to 15.1%, the low for the year. Trading volume popped upward with 2.4 billion shares of the S&P 500 companies trading today. Trading rose 17% on the NYSE and trading increased 5% on NASDAQ.
Today's rally puts SPX firmly above the 200 dma, but can this rally continue? The economic data aren't what one would call booming.
The CPI reported a drop of 0.2% for February. This continues to amaze me. A flat CPI is completely opposite my own experience in the marketplace. Are your grocery bills flat or declining?
Housing starts increased to 1178k, but building permits fell to 1167k. But both numbers are positive for the real estate market. Industrial production decreased 0.5% in February after a 0.8% increase in January. And capacity utilization decreased to 76.7% in February. Do these numbers look like a booming economy?
Often, the day after the Fed announcement presents a market reversal as analysts think through market implications. We'll see. For now, it's time for the rose colored glasses.