Can Federal Reserve Rate-Hiking Cycles Predict Stock Market Moves? Here's What History Tells Us

Pardon the cliché, but Wall Street's only certainty is uncertainty in the short term. Over the trailing two years, investors have witnessed the ageless Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJINDICES: ^DJI), broad-based S 500 (SNPINDEX: ^GSPC), and growth-driven Nasdaq Composite (NASDAQINDEX: ^IXIC) rocket to new highs, get buried by a bear market, and now bounce back.

Wild swings on Wall Street, coupled with an uncertain economic environment, often leave investors wondering which direction stocks will move in next. Although there's no such thing as the perfect indicator when it comes to predicting stock market moves, there are data points and metrics that offer historically strong correlations to stock movements.

Interestingly enough, one of those indicators is Federal Reserve monetary policy.

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Source Fool.com