The final 10 minutes of trading can make or break the stock market’s performance throughout the day. At least that’s what’s likely to happen this week, as subdued trading volumes and a lack of material catalysts into Friday morning (when Fed Chairman Jerome Powell speaks in Wyoming) could prompt professional traders to focus on finishing the day when placing a market order. “Low volume, a slow move higher, and then (presumably) systemic flows pushing the market sharply higher to take advantage of liquidity at the close?” the Wall Street firm asked in a note. Traders often place closing orders at or after the close of the day to predict market trends for the next day. JPMorgan noted that about one-third of the gains for the S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 on Monday came in the final 10 minutes or so of trading. Despite lower liquidity, the S&P 500 rose about 1% on Monday and was just 1.1% below its all-time high, while the equal-weighted S&P 500 hit an all-time high during the session. The bullish bias leads JPMorgan to believe this is a “broad-based rally.” All eyes are on Fed Chairman Jerome Powell, who is scheduled to speak at the Fed’s annual Economic Policy Symposium in Jackson Hole. The speech took place just three weeks after the Federal Reserve’s July meeting, and investors were increasingly confident that a rate cut in September was “on the table.”
