For the second day in a row the S&P Financial Index (XLF) is the best performing sector just as conventional wisdom holds that the Fed will make hawkish moves as early as tomorrow.  The conclusion of the Federal Open Market Committee meeting tomorrow is by no means a foregone conclusion.

The thing with this financial rally is that it is being led by the stocks of the smartest guys and gals in the room.  Insurance names are leading the way which for some might be counterintuitive with respect to the news backdrop of record hurricanes and billions of dollars in damages.  (We know higher premiums after Katrina ushered in a decade of record profits.)

The XLF is breaking through key resistance 25.00 has room to rally to 30.00 (the all-time record high was 36.7 in December 2006). 

Meanwhile, President Trump’s speech to the United Nations was one for the ages but for now it is not having any impact on the stock market.   I like seeing the consolidation of recent gains.