Home Price Increases Cool, Fed Chair on Capitol Hill Today

Market Overview - The stock market shows positive momentum with the Dow up +265 points (+0.62%), S&P 500 up +42 points (+0.70%), Nasdaq up +213 points (+0.97%), and Russell 2000 up +18 points (+0.87%) [1] - Bond yields remain stable with the 10-year yield at +4.35% and the 2-year yield at +3.85% [2] - Oil prices are stable, with WTI at $65 per barrel and ICE Brent crude at $67 [2] Housing Market - The Case-Shiller Home Price Index reports a +2.7% year-over-year increase in home prices, which is below the expected +4% growth [3] - New York City leads in price growth at +7.9%, followed by Chicago at +6.0% and Detroit at +5.5%, while Tampa shows a decline of -2.2% [4] - Thirty-year fixed mortgage rates were in the mid-6% range for most of April, with expectations of further challenges as rates approach 7% [4] Federal Reserve Insights - Fed Chair Jerome Powell is scheduled to testify before the House Financial Services Committee regarding the economy's health and potential interest rate cuts [5] - Powell's previous statements indicate a steady Fed funds rate of 4.25-4.50% for the fourth consecutive meeting, with no significant changes expected in his upcoming appearances [6] Consumer Confidence - The June Consumer Confidence index is anticipated to rise to a consensus of 99.5, following a previous increase to 98.0, after a significant drop to 85.7 due to "Liberation Day" tariffs [7] - Historical data shows Consumer Confidence peaked at nearly 140 in 2018 and fell below 30 during the 2009 financial crisis [8]