AFCG - Fed Says Cuts Ahead

2024-03-10 09:00:00 ET

Summary

• U.S. equity markets posted mixed performance while benchmark interest retreated for a second week as investors parsed cooler-than-expected employment data and relatively dovish central bank commentary.
• Declining for just the 3rd time in the past 19 weeks, tech-related weakness dragged the S&P 500 lower by 0.2% this week, but the Mid-Cap 400 posted gains of 1.5%.
• Buoyed by the retreat in benchmark interest rates and a generally solid final stretch of REIT earnings season, real estate equities were among the leaders this week.
• The critical BLS Nonfarm Payrolls report showed that the U.S. economy added 275k jobs in February - above consensus estimates of 198k - but consistent with the trend of past quarters, the report was quite a bit weaker under the surface than the headline metric would indicate.
• Across two days of Congressional testimony, Fed Chair Powell commented that the central bank is "not far" from having enough data to ease policy and noted that cuts “can and will begin” this year. Across the pond, the ECB laid the groundwork for a June cut.

Real Estate Weekly Outlook

U.S. equity markets posted mixed performance while benchmark interest retreated for a second week as investors parsed cooler-than-expected employment data, relatively dovish central bank commentary, and renewed hints of renewed instability in the regional banking sector. Across two days of Congressional testimony, Fed Chair Powell commented that the central bank is "not far" from having enough data to ease policy and noted that cuts “can and will begin” this year, a relatively dovish policy stance that was supported by employment data this week showing a continued cooling across labor markets....

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