Last week was a volatile week for stocks. The Dow Jones was up by 0.12%. However, the S&P 500 (down 0.16%) and Nasdaq (down 0.39%) both suffered a second straight week of losses. This week, investors will be focused on the Federal Reserve's policy meeting, which will be on Wednesday afternoon. The central bank is widely expected to hold interest rates steady, but investors will be seeking additional insights into what future decisions the Federal Reserve may be considering based on the August inflation numbers, now at a year-over-year figure of 3.7%.
Economic reports from last week came back mixed:
•Small Business Optimism - lower than expectation
•Retail Sales - higher than expectation
•Manufacturing (New York) - higher than expectation
•Consumer Sentiment - lower than expectation
•Jobless Claims - lower than expectation
This week, investors will look for guidance from economic reports like Housing, Manufacturing and Jobless Claims.