US markets closed higher after Fed issued policy update

27 Jul 2017 Evaluate

The US markets closed higher on Wednesday, with all three gauges recording all-time highs, supported by better-than-expected corporate results, and after the Federal Reserve offered an update to its monetary-policy outlook. The Federal Reserve kept interest rates unchanged and said it expected to start winding down its massive holdings of bonds relatively soon in a sign of confidence in the US economy. The Fed kept its benchmark lending rate in a target range of 1.00 percent to 1.25 percent, as expected, and said it was on track to continue the slow path of monetary tightening that has lifted rates by a percentage point since 2015. In a statement following a two-day policy meeting, the US central bank’s rate-setting committee indicated the economy was growing moderately and job gains had been solid. It also noted that both overall inflation and a measure of underlying price gains had declined - trends which have worried some policymakers - but that it expected the economy to continue strengthening. After pushing rates nearly to zero to fight the 2007-2009 financial crisis and recession, the Fed pumped over $3 trillion into the economy in a bond-buying spree to further reduce rates. Its balance sheet has grown to $4.5 trillion. The statement cemented expectations the Fed will announce at its next policy meeting in September the start of its balance sheet reduction plan, marking the end of a controversial tool that drew criticism from Republican lawmakers in Congress.

On the economy front, sales of newly-constructed homes remained steady in June even as the market remains starved for inventory. New-home sales were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 610,000, the Commerce Department said. That was 0.8% above May’s 605,000 rate, after a slight downward revision. June’s tally was 9.1% higher than a year ago. The government’s new-home sales data, which are based on small samples, are choppy and often heavily revised. Still, sales for the 2017 year to date are up about 11% compared with the same period last year. The median sales price in June was $310,800, down 3.3%, compared with a year ago. At the current sales pace, it would take 5 months to exhaust available inventory, a more balanced reading than the 4.6 months represented in May’s sales data.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 97.58 points or 0.45 percent to 21,711.01, Nasdaq added 10.58 points or 0.16 percent to 6,422.75, while S&P 500 edged higher by 0.7 points or 0.03 percent to 2,477.83.

About MoneyWorks4Me

MoneyWorks4Me is a SEBI-registered Investment Adviser (IA) dedicated to helping investors build long-term wealth through transparent, research-driven, conflict-free guidance. Founded in 2008, we started our journey as a Research Analyst (RA), providing deep fundamental analysis, intrinsic value insights, and long-term investing frameworks for Indian equities. In 2017, we transitioned to a full-fledged SEBI-registered Investment Adviser, strengthening our commitment to acting as a fiduciary—always putting the investor’s interest first.

Our Vision

To become India’s most trusted, research-powered fiduciary advisory platform—where every investor, regardless of experience, can make calm, confident, and well-reasoned investment decisions.

What Makes MoneyWorks4Me Different

Fiduciary-first advisory model.
As SEBI-registered IAs, we are legally and ethically bound to act in the best interests of our clients. We do not sell or distribute any financial products. This ensures our guidance is 100% unbiased and conflict-free.
Deep fundamental research + robust valuation discipline.
Built on more than 15 years of equity research, our framework combines quality assessment, intrinsic value estimation, and a sensible margin-of-safety approach.
Process—not predictions.
We don’t rely on guesswork or market timing. Instead, we focus on asset allocation, risk management, and long-term compounding.
Technology + Human Intelligence.
We believe a combination of both is essential for investing success. We constantly innovate and upgrade in-house tools, financial X-rays, and portfolio analytics so that our team of analysts and advisors are equipped with the best.
Partner with Clients.
We follow a DIWM (Do-It-With-Me) approach where we partner clients in setting goals, financial planning, educating on our investing process and share decision-enabling resources transparently with our clients who retain control on execution.

Our Approach: Ensuring compounding work its magic on client portfolio.

MoneyWorks4Me ensures this through:

Investing in stocks, mutual funds, debt, and gold
Quality-at-Reasonable-Price way of investing in stocks
Constructing Direct Stock Portfolios with Core, Booster, and Amplifier stocks
A Mutual Fund Portfolio that delivers consistent out-performance and meaningful diversification (low overlap)
Periodic review and rebalancing
Clear Buy-Sell-Hold, and Position-sizing frameworks

Name of the IA registered with SEBI:	The Alchemists Ark Pvt. Ltd.
Logo:
Trade/Brand Name of IA:	MoneyWorks4Me Investment Advisers
Brand Logo:
SEBI Registration Number:	INA000013323 Validity – May 16, 2019 – Perpetual
Registration:	Non-Individual
BSE Enlistment No:	1187
Address:	B-101, Signet Corner Building, Balewadi Phata, Baner, Pune, Maharashtra 411045
Compliance officer Details:	Name: Shrikant Jagtap Email: shrikant.jagtap@moneyworks4me.com Telephone: +919860359463 Address: Same as IA
Grievance Officer Details:	Name: Mukta Vaze Email: mukta.vaze@moneyworks4me.com Telephone: +91 98609 19463 Address: Same as IA
Principal Officer Details:	Name: Atharva Bhide Email: atharva.bhide@moneyworks4me.com Telephone: +91 91758 99463 Address: Same as IA
Standard Warning:	Investment in securities market are subject to market risks. Read all the related documents carefully before investing.
Disclaimer:	Registration granted by SEBI, enlistment with exchange and certification from NISM in no way guarantee performance of the intermediary or provide any assurance of returns to investors.