Category Archives: Economy/Stock Market

Indices kicked off the week closing at new record highs on Monday, thanks in part to strong performance in Technology and M&A action. The following day, indices closed the session with mixed moves. The Dow hit a new record level while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ shed some points. West Texas Intermediate crude oil fell 1.3 percent to settle at $44.65 a barrel. In other news, Commerce Department numbers showed housing starts ramped up in June with new construction ticking up 4.8% to an annual rate of 1.19 million units, versus expectations of 1.17 million units. The Dow closed at a record high level on Wednesday on better-than-expected quarterly figures from Technology companies. The rally ended on Thursday with the three major indices closing in the red zone. National Association of Realtors data showed existing home sales ticked up 1.1% to an annual rate of 5.57 million units in June, versus economist expectations of 5.47 million units. Results returned to green on Friday with the S&P 500 closing at a record high level, despite West Texas Intermediate crude oil shedding 3.8% to settle at $44.19 a barrel. 

The S&P 500 Index hit its first record high in more than a year on Monday, as stocks traded well into the green zone as a result of stronger-than-expected employment numbers for June. Earnings season kicked off after the closing bell. On Tuesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 hit new record heights, and Energy stocks gained on a jump in crude oil. West Texas Intermediate crude tacked on 4.6% to settle at $46.77 a barrel. Indices closed with mixed moves on Wednesday. The Dow and S&P 500 posted marginal gains to close at new record levels once again, while the NASDAQ shed some points. Moves were mixed amid a variety of economic news. West Texas Intermediate crude oil slipped 3.85% to settle at $45 a barrel, likely causing Energy stocks to trade lower. Details released from the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book report showed economic activity increased at a modest rate since mid-May amid slight price pressures and a small decline in consumer spending. Indices closed trading with gains on Thursday with crude oil rebounding from Wednesday’s downswing. Elsewhere, initial jobless claims held steady last week, as Labor Department data showed new claims remained at an addition of 254,000 for a second week straight. Additionally, continuing claims increased by 32,000 to 2.149 million in the week ended July 2, 2016. The markets closed with mixed moves on Friday. The Dow hit a new record while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ ended fractionally in the red for the session. West Texas Intermediate crude oil settled at $45.99 a barrel. In economic news, retail sales jumped up by an unexpected 0.6% in June. Economists had expected a lesser 0.1% gain. Advances at home-improvement and garden retailers led the ascent.

The markets opened the week finishing to the down side on Tuesday after the Independence Day holiday on Monday. Energy stocks sold off amid retreating crude oil prices. West Texas Intermediate crude oil shed 4.9% to settle at $46.60 a barrel. In economic news, U.S. factory orders decreased by one percent in May, versus economist expectations of a 0.8 percent drop. The markets rebounded from early low levels on Wednesday to close in the green zone. Stocks gained on the release of minutes from the last Federal Reserve meeting as well as a variety of other economic news. Services industry activity increased in June. The ISM Services Index hit 56.5, up from 52.9 in May. The results exceeded expectations of a reading of 53.3. Additionally, the trade gap ticked up in May as the U.S. trade deficit rose to $41.1 billion from $37.4 billion in April. Indices were mixed on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 indices rebounded from session lows to land slightly in the red while the NASDAQ stepped up. West Texas Intermediate crude oil shed 4.9% settling at $45.09 a barrel. Department figures showed initial jobless claims fell by 16,000 to 254,000 last week. The markets ramped up on Friday with stocks gaining on favorable employment data for June. Labor Department figures showed an addition of 287,000 jobs versus expectations of 175,000. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.9% from 4.7% in May as a result of more people entering the work force. The markets are looking ahead to next week when earnings season kicks off on Monday.

Indices closed in green territory on Monday, even though several stocks finished off peak levels as momentum faded in the late afternoon. West Texas Intermediate crude oil tacked on 2.5% to settle at $49.19 a barrel. Stocks continued to trade into the green zone on Tuesday with Technology stocks leading the way. The positive moves came in anticipation of Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen’s semiannual testimony before the House Financial Services Committee in Washington. Midweek, investors proceeded with caution ahead of the Brexit referendum vote, when U.K. citizens would vote on whether to leave the European Union. Existing home sales ticked up in May with sales increasing by 1.8% from April’s revised level and also up by 4.5% from May 2015. On another note, crude oil took a breather amid a smaller-than-expected decrease in inventories. Energy Information Administration data showed reserves dipped by 900,000 barrels over the past week versus an expected decline of 1.7 million barrels. West Texas Intermediate crude oil shed 1.4% today to settle at $49.13 a barrel. The markets closed on a positive note on Thursday with Financial and Energy companies leading the way ahead of the final count of the Brexit referendum vote in the U.K. Labor Department data showed initial jobless claims decreased last week, dipping by 18,000 to 259,000, versus expectations of 270,000. Additionally, new home sales declined in May as Commerce Department figures showed sales fell by 6% to a 551,000 annualized rate versus 586,000 in April. On Friday, stocks sold off on news of the Brexit voting results. The pro-exit vote weighed on the U.S. financial markets and oil prices. West Texas Intermediate crude oil shed 4.9% to settle at $47.64 a barrel. Consumer confidence dipped in June, with a final measure of 93.5, down 0.8 point from the preliminary reading, and 1.2 points off of May’s result.

The markets began the week in the red zone as investors likely proceeded with caution ahead of Tuesday’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Crude oil slipped for the third straight session, with West Texas Intermediate crude dipping 0.4%, settling at $48.88 a barrel. The slip continued the next day with Financial stocks leading declines for the S&P 500 Index. Stocks retreated on a downswing in crude oil, which settled at $48.49 a barrel. Meanwhile, Commerce Department data showed retail sales climbed by a stronger-than-expected 0.5 percent in May. Discounting sales of autos and gasoline, sales increased by 0.3 percent. Stocks traded lower on Wednesday in the wake of comments from the Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Interest rates will remain unchanged for the time being, but there may be as many as two rate increases by the end of the year. In economic news, the Producer Price Index edged up by 0.4% in May, versus consensus expectations of a 0.3% climb. The core measure jumped by 0.3%. Stocks recovered a little on Thursday in late-day trading, despite West Texas Intermediate crude oil slipping 3.8% settling at $46.21 a barrel. The Consumer Price Index rose by 0.2% in May, versus a 0.4% gain in April. The core measure, which discounts food and energy, edged up by 0.2%. Additionally, Labor Department figures showed new claims ramped up by 13,000 to 277,000. Indices closed in red territory on Friday, with Technology and Healthcare stocks leading the downswing; however, West Texas Intermediate crude increased 3.8% to settle at $47.98 a barrel.

The markets started the week with upward movements with Financial stocks rebounding to lead the S&P 500 Index higher. Stocks stepped up on words from the Federal Reserve. Speaking before the World Affairs Council of Philadelphia, Fed Chairwoman Janet Yellen said the central bank may boost interest rates further before the economy reaches its growth targets and cautioned against relying on the disappointing data of a single jobs report. On Tuesday, the markets traded with mixed moves, as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 closed with slight gains, while the NASDAQ shed some points. Momentum faded somewhat in the afternoon. Texas Intermediate crude increased 1.4 percent to settle at $50.36 a barrel, resulting in an increase in several Energy sector stocks. Federal Reserve figures showed consumer credit increased $13.4 billion in April, versus average economist estimates of $18 billion. Indices returned to green territory on Wednesday, with the S&P 500 closing near an all-time high. Raw-materials and Industrial stocks led the upswing; however, Energy stocks took a breather despite a ramp up in crude oil. Despite rebounding from session lows, the markets landed slightly down on Thursday. Labor Department data showed new claims fell in the last week by 4,000 to 264,000. Indices continued trading in the red zone on Friday. In a preliminary measure, the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment index dipped by 0.4 point to 94.3 in June versus estimates for a reading of 94 and shy of May’s final reading of 94.7. Elsewhere, West Texas Intermediate crude slipped three percent to close the week at $49.07 a barrel. 

After observing Memorial Day, market action was mixed on Tuesday. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 Index shed some points, while the NASDAQ landed in green territory for the session. Consumer confidence decreased this month, as the Conference Board reported a downswing to 92.6 in May from 94.7 in April, noting a slight slowing in the labor market. On another note, Commerce Department figures showed consumer spending ticked up in April with a 1% jump versus expectations of 0.7%. The result marked the strongest increase in seven years. Substantial demand for new vehicles and higher fuel prices led the advance. U.S. trading volumes were low on Wednesday, with nearly 6.5 billion shares exchanging hands compared with the year-to-date average of 7.8 billion shares. Despite the low volume, the major indices closed with gains. Indices closed with slight gains on Thursday, while the S&P 500 traded up to a seven-month high. Initial jobless claims decreased, dipping by 1,000 to 267,000. Crude oil moved up on a downswing in inventory levels when reserves retreated by 1.4 million barrels in the past week. Stocks ended in the red zone on Friday despite rebounding from early low levels. Less-than-stellar employment numbers likely led the decline. Labor Department figures showed an addition of 38,000 non-farm payrolls for May, versus economist expectations of 164,000. Additionally, numbers for March and April were downwardly revised by a combined amount of 59,000. Services industry activity also retreated in May as ISM non-manufacturing index dipped to 52.9 from 55.7 in April.

Indices began the week with a loss as Utilities and Telecommunication stocks led the slight downswing. West Texas Intermediate crude shed 0.7% to settle at $48.08 a barrel. Despite the rough beginning, the market indices traded well into the green zone on Tuesday. New home sales increased to an eight-year high in April. Sales jumped 16.6% last month to an annual pace of 619,000 versus expectations of 525,000. Stocks continued to rally on Wednesday with several Financial stocks posting gains after a jump in crude oil. Additionally, several Energy stocks stepped up on a dip in inventories. Energy Information Administration data showed reserves decreased by 4.2 million barrels in the past week. Markets were mixed on Thursday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 traded slightly lower, while the NASDAQ ended in the green zone. Initial jobless claims decreased as Labor Department data showed new filings for the prior week dipped by 10,000 to 268,000. On another note, durable goods orders increased by 3.4% in April. Technology, Financial and Consumer Discretionary stocks posted gains on Friday amid a variety of economic news. Revised gross domestic product numbers may have been an inspiration. The economy expanded at a pace of 0.8% in the first quarter, versus the previous estimate of 0.5% growth. The revised data was shy of an expected 0.9% rate. 

Stocks started the week on a high note, with Energy and Technology stocks leading the upswing. West Texas Intermediate crude oil also settled at $47.72 a barrel. Stocks traded lower on Tuesday. Consumer prices increased in April as the Consumer Price Index rose 0.4% versus March’s uptick of 0.1% and February’s 0.2% decline. Core prices, discounting food and energy, jumped 0.2% as expected. Industrial production ramped up by 0.7% in April versus expectations of a 0.3% expansion, while Commerce Department data showed housing starts climbed 6.6% in April to an annual rate of 1.17 million units. The stock indices closed out Wednesday’s trading session mixed on Federal Reserve comments. Minutes from April’s Federal Open Market Committee meeting showed a rate hike is somewhat likely for June, but only if economic data warrants it. Crude oil retreated midweek with West Texas Intermediate crude settling at $48.19 a barrel. Figures from the Energy Information Administration showed a 1.3 million barrels lift in inventories in the past week. Stocks rebounded somewhat in Thursday’s afternoon momentum. Labor Department data showed first-time claims for unemployment benefits decreased by 16,000 to 278,000, while continuing claims dipped by 13,000 to 2.152 million last week. Indices closed in the green zone on Friday. Better-than-expected quarterly data led the Technology sector higher. West Texas Intermediate crude oil settled the week at $47.75 a barrel. Existing home sales ticked up in April as data from the National Association of Realtors showed a 1.7 percent increase to an annual rate of 5.45 million units. Sales in March were revised slightly higher to 5.36 million units from the initially reported 5.33 million.