An Unstoppable Stock Market Is About to Meet the Immovable Fed

The stock market has acted as if the Federal Reserve doesn’t exist as it jumps out to a quick start to the year. Expect Fed Chairman Jerome Powell to remind it when the central bank hikes interest rates this coming week.

The


Dow Jones Industrial Average


gained 1.8% this past week, while the


S&P 500


advanced 2.5% and the


Nasdaq Composite


rose 4.3%. It was the S&P’s third gain in four weeks, putting the index up almost 14% from its bear-market low in early October.