Wednesday's Markets Update (22 Feb, 2023)

22 Feb 2023 by rate3

On Wednesday's trading session, bears attempted to use the FOMC Minutes, which were published in the midst of the day, to push markets further down. However, they were taken aback as traders were generally unimpressed by the content of the document. The minutes basically reiterated positive macroeconomic data such as a tight labor market, lower PCE, increased GDP, and eased inflation, which had already been priced in by the markets.

The minutes also showed that "participants agreed that inflation was unacceptably high," and "there was a wide dispersion in views about the extent of a potential slowdown." However, they did not provide players with any guidance on what might be the Fed's next move at their next meeting on March 21-22.

The NASDAQ reacted accordingly by staying above 11.5K (open: 11517, close: 11507), with BTC whales starting to take a clue from general market conditions and stepping down a bit, leading to a meager 1.28 percent correction (open: 24110, close: 23799).