A Coin-Flip Fed, and the Losses Keep Growing

Right now the S&P 500 is down about 0.29% near 7,730 and the Nasdaq is off 0.62%, both losses deeper than they were an hour ago when I last checked in. That's a reversal from last night's mood in Seoul, where the Kospi and Kosdaq both closed higher — tonight New York can't settle on whether the Fed hikes or holds next month, the odds are basically a coin flip. Add in news that job quality is slipping, and the dollar's actually gaining strength while the won slides to 1,407. Rate-sensitive names like real estate and clean energy are drooping under that pressure, while gold miners are catching a bid as the nervous-money trade. My Alphabet sits at -7.3%, Broadcom -1.0%, Eaton +2.1%, Vertex +0.1% on paper, and with about ninety minutes left to the close, I'm watching which way this rate coin-flip finally lands.