The economy is not on auto pilot like it was under Trump. In order to get inflation in-check, interest rates were increased, this would cause less economic activity, fewer dollars chasing goods, and fewer jobs making it a employer market and salary inlfation slowing. It really slowed down the housing market. This is the trick the Feds are trying to manage, can they bring inflation down without causing a protracted recession. Some called this a "soft landing".
The analyst I talked to believes we will finally see a decrease in the Fed rate in Sept. They will continue to do this over time with the intention of lowering rates to hopefully cause more economic activity.
Analysts are see at the small cap stocks as more favorable, your large caps had more cash reserves and so interest rate increases did not impact them as much as it did for small cap stocks and even small businesses. Decreasing interest rates will allow smaller companies access to more capital and at cheaper rates.
As interest rates decrease, people will move away from bonds to stocks. I purchased a 9 month bond at 5.29% yesterday, that is a safe bet given we may see 2 interest rate decreases in that time frame, and can get a better return than CD's or treasury sweep account. After that, there will be an opportunity to purchase stocks if you are not invested in stocks or have some excess cash to invest at a good market / price point and see some good market gains as the economy recovers.
