Weekly Market Commentary 09/16/2016

After lying dormant for most of the summer, volatility returned with a vengeance to the financial markets this week. Stock prices fluctuated by more than 1% in each of the four trading days through Thursday, the longest such stretch of gyrations since the Brexit-related upheaval in late June. Indeed, the last time stocks staged a daily move of more than 1% was on July 8, when the S&P 500 surged by 1.5%. The upsurge in volatility reflects a murky macro backdrop that has left investors confused about the health of the economy and the near-term course of monetary policy. The Fed’s policy setting committee meets next week, and speculation as to whether it will pull the rate trigger for the first time since last December has been buffeted in both directions by a stream of conflicting data.