While the vast majority of investors probably don't have the time nor the interest to watch the stock market on a minute-by-minute basis, one can learn an awful lot about what is actually driving prices by doing so.
Granted, it isn't important to watch every tick every day. However, when something happens and the market makes a big move, watching the action closely - meaning on a one-minute chart - can really help one understand why the market is doing what it's doing.
For example, stock futures had been modestly lower before the open on Thursday morning. The spread between where futures were trading and fair value suggested that the S&P 500 might open down between two and four points. Yet, five minutes after the opening bell, the S&P was down eight and dropping like a rock. And after 22 minutes, the S&P had lost nearly 15 points.
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To be sure, a 15 point drop isn't anything to write home about these days - especially with the market having defied the majority of analysts by continuing to trudge higher since the middle of April. However, it was the manner in which the 15 S&P points came off that was the key.
In short, anyone expecting to see another sleepy summer morning in stocks was surely surprised by the sudden dance to the downside.
S&P 500 1-Minute
So, given that the futures had been down between two and four points most of the morning, the quick decline meant that something was up.
Why The Dive? (Thursday Edition)
It turns out that something indeed had happened to cause the market to flood with sell orders. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard, who normally falls into the "dove" camp, was talking about the Fed needing to raise interest rates sooner than expected.
In essence, Bullard told reporters after a speech Thursday that an improving economy and rising price pressures (Fed-speak for inflation) means that the Fed is getting closer to the time when it will need to normalize monetary policy (Fed-speak for hiking short-term interest rates back to "normal" levels) - and that the markets may not be prepared for such a move.
"The Markets Aren't Ready"
Bullard's exact words were, "I don’t think financial markets have internalized how close we are to our ultimate goals."
Bullard added that after a miserable showing by the economy during the first quarter, he sees the economy moving back to a three percent growth rate and inflation rising back towards the Fed's target of two percent.
On the somewhat forgotten topic of the unemployment rate, Bullard said he sees the current 6.3 percent unemployment rate heading to 5.8 percent by year end. If this happens, the St. Louis Fed President said the economy would be set up for the Fed to start normalizing their monetary policy.