The Dow Jones Industrial Average shot up 150 points in early trading Friday, coming within 44 points of its all-time record high 0f 26,951, then gave back some of its gains. The S&P 500 set another intra-day all-time high at 2,966, and while the NASDAQ was off slightly, it is within 150 points of its all-time record high.
These impressive gains come amidst continuing stalemate in US-China trade negotiations, and continued tension with Iran over the downed US drone, showing a remarkable resiliency in investor attitudes.
In Friday comments, Fed members continued to underscore the board's dovish posture. Richard Clarida spoke on Bloomberg this morning and indicated that uncertainty has "elevated in the last six to eight weeks." This was followed by later comments from Lael Brainard who said specifically that the "downside risks argue for softening the path of rates."
Despite these dovish inputs, the bond market rally took a bit of a breather, helping 10-Year Treasuries trade back above 2%.
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