Growth stocks and related exchange traded funds surged after the Federal Reserve released its statement following a two-day policy meeting.
In its statement released on Wednesday at the end of a two-day policy meeting, the Fed stated it ”will soon be appropriate to raise the target range for the federal-funds rate” and approved a final round of asset purchases, the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The Fed provided some clarity on the prospect of rate hikes but not all the clarity markets were looking for,” Russell Price, chief of economics at Ameriprise Financial Services, told Reuters. “There’s still some uncertainty when it comes to the balance sheet roll off. The market’s glad to get a little more clarity given the uncertainty that accompanies transition periods like this.”
The U.S. equities markets have been battered recently on expectations that the Fed will enact tighter monetary policies with tapering of its accommodative bond purchases and hiking interest rates to combat elevated inflation levels. Consequently, traders have been trimming exposure to riskier assets, notably growth stocks and technology shares.
“With inflation well above 2 percent and a strong labor market, the Committee expects it will soon be appropriate to raise the target range for the federal funds rate,” according to the Fed statement.
Looking ahead, economists anticipate that the Fed was ready to start raising rates in March, and options traders in interest-rate futures markets were even betting on five rate hikes this year, according to CME Group.
“It’s definitely a wild start to the year,” Josh Chastant, a senior investment analyst at GuideStone Capital Management, told the WSJ. “That’s to be expected when you go from a stimulative Fed to less accommodative.”
Investors interested in the growth style can turn to targeted strategies like the American Century Focused Dynamic Growth ETF (FDG). FDG is a high-conviction strategy that invests in early-stage, rapid-growth companies with a competitive advantage and high profitability, growth, and scalability.
Additionally, investors can look to the American Century STOXX U.S. Quality Growth ETF (NYSEArca: QGRO). QGRO’s stock selection process is broken down into high-growth stocks based on sales, earnings, cash flow, and operating income, along with stable-growth stocks based on growth, profitability, and valuation metrics.
For more news, information, and strategy, visit the Core Strategies Channel.
