Monthly Market Update
Submitted by TLWM Financial on August 1st, 2022
The second half of the year is off to a good start as the S&P 500 rallied roughly 9% in July. While this rally was welcomed by investors there is still a lot of work to be done as the S&P 500 closed the month down about 13% for the year. (YCharts)
For many investors the two most important drivers this year have been inflation and The Fed. The June CPI reading came in at 9.1%, the highest in 40 years, and the Fed responded by raising rates another 0.75%. While headline grabbing, neither of these developments were particularly surprising. Future inflation readings are likely to impact consumer sentiment and monetary policy for the rest of the year.