There was barely a hint of a Fed pivot and meme stock mania has come back with a vengeance.
Gamestop was just halted, up 12.7% while AMC is up 17% and BBBY is up 54%.
Obviously, the Fed isn't taking its cues strictly from meme stocks but they're certainly a sign that the animal spirits are back.
You have to sympathize with the FOMC, which has hiked rates to 2.25-2.50% in short order only to see risk assets explode to the upside again.
Combine that with an employment market that is still cranking out 500,000 jobs per month and there's no reason to lay off the hikes. Yes, gasoline prices are down and that will make for a soft CPI print on Wednesday (and again next month) but 'financial conditions' are a key Fed metric and that pretty much means 'stock market strength'. Lately it's been a one-way ticket for equities and dip buyers rush in.
If the Fed hikes to +3% that's not exactly 'cheap money' anymore but they might be reminded that despite all the 'recession' talk, there's a lot of money on the sidelines.
In any case, the animal spirits are out and the Nasdaq is up 1.1%.