January 29, 7:00 pm EST
For the first time in a decade, the mood at the World Economic Forum in Davos was of optimism and opportunity. And Trump economic policies have had a lot to do with it.
That optimism has continued to drive markets higher this year: global stocks, global interest rates, global commodities – practically everything.
The S&P 500 is up nearly 7% on the year now — just a little less than a month into the New Year. And we’ve yet to see the real impact of tax incentives hit earnings and investment.
But, with the rising price of oil (now above $65), and improving consumption (on the better outlook), we will likely start seeing the inflation numbers tick up.
Now, what will be the catalyst to cap this very sharp run higher in stocks to start the year? It will probably be the first “hotter than expected” inflation number.
That would start the speculation that the Fed might need to move rates faster, and it might speed-up the exit talks from QE in Europe and Japan.
If the inflation outlook triggers a correction (which would be healthy), that would set the table for hotter earnings and hotter economic growth (coming down the pike) to ultimately drive the remainder of stock returns for the year.
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