Market Turbulence Won’t Subside Until After Fed’s Rate Hike

The market won’t find its footing until after the Federal Reserve pulls the trigger and raises rates. ‘We need to get the rate hike out of the way,’ said Craig Erlam, senior market analyst at Oanda, based in London. ‘The Fed’s made it perfectly clear that the first rate hike doesn’t mean there will be a second or a third within three to six months - we just need to get our first one out of the way.’ The markets have been anything but calm this week - triggered by panic selling and buying on the heels of worries over China’s currency and economy. The Dow Industrials fell 1,089 points on Monday morning, ending the session lower by 600 points. The market then snapped back, posting a 600 point increase on Wednesday and a nearly 400 point jump on Thursday - the blue chip index’s biggest two day point increase ever. But the timing surrounding the Fed’s rate hike is subject to great uncertainty and debate. Despite what takes place in September, Erlam said rates will stay low for quite some time which will favor housing stocks. ‘Plus, people are looking to improve their houses to boost resale value so stocks like Home Depot (HD) have a fair bit of value,’ he said. TheStreet’s Scott Gamm reports from New York.