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The Fed can hold steady and that’s great news for stocks

Posted at 10:44 PM, Jan 29, 2019
and last updated 2019-01-29 22:44:16-05

The Federal Reserve made a mistake when it raised interest rates in December, but that could be good news for the stock market, according to Wharton School finance professor Jeremy Siegel.

Siegel is confident the Fed recognizes it make more sense to be “patient,” and the central bank is not going to keep hiking rates this year. He also believes a recession is not imminent in the United Sates, even though the economy is likely to slow.

The market should react positively to that. Siegel has said in recent interviews on CNBC and SiriusXM that the market turmoil of late 2018 has helped bring down valuations to more reasonable levels.

He thinks stocks could post a decent 2019, with gains of between 5% and 15% for the broader market.

Siegel will be talking about the Fed ahead of its interest rate decision Wednesday afternoon with CNN Business correspondent Alison Kosikon CNN Business’ “Markets Now” live show at 12:45.

Tech analyst Benjamin Schachter of Macquarie will also be on the show discussing the latest earnings from Apple and previewing the fourth quarter results from Facebook.

Schachter is worried Apple will lose more momentum because demand for the App Store and other services may wane as iPhone sales slow. But he’s bullish on Facebook, arguing that bad headlines about fake news and elections won’t hurt ad sales.

There will also be an episode of “Markets Now” on Thursday at 12:45 pm ET. Kristen Bitterly Michell, Citi Private Bank’s head of capital markets for the Americas, will be joining Kosik to talk about investment strategies in today’s volatile times.

“Markets Now”streams live from the New York Stock Exchange every Wednesday at 12:45 p.m. ET. Hosted by CNN’s business correspondents, the 15-minute program features incisive commentary from experts.

You can watch “Markets Now” at CNN.com/MarketsNow from your desk or on your phone or tablet. If you can’t catch the show live, check out highlights online and through the MarketsNow newsletter, delivered to your inbox every afternoon.