Two Top Catalysts For Today's Market Drop

The stock market has been running nicely the last couple weeks. Today the market dropped with the presence of two catalysts.

First, Fed Governor Lael Brainard - testifying before Congress in a hearing for her to possibly become Vice Chair of the Federal Reserve - indicated that the U.S. could start reducing its balance sheet at "a rapid pace." The market moved downward during this testimony, indicating that the potential for aggressive actions by the Federal Reserve to address an overly hot U.S. economy is not exactly welcome news. While the Fed typically increases rates by a quarter percent, the likelihood that an increase of a full half a percent next month is high. The stock market feels cautionary about such aggressive moves that will impact the economy.

The second catalyst affecting the stock market drop today was the announcement of additional sanctions on Russia. Because of dependency on energy - particularly oil/gas, but also coal - placing more sanctions signals higher prices on a reduced energy supply.

Recession is already a worry, and that possibility makes the market nervous.

Check out my latest video for more, here: https://youtu.be/bqhOvlsjKfo