Category Archives: Economy/Stock Market

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.

Indices started the week with mixed moves as the Dow dipped on Monday, while the S&P 500 Index and NASDAQ added slight gains. The mixed results were likely due to a variety of economic news. The markets saw a dip in crude oil prices, a belief that earnings are likely to remain weak with S&P companies posting their lowest earnings-per-share growth rate since the financial crisis and support for the Fed’s dovish stance from both the Minneapolis and Chicago Federal Reserve presidents. Stocks surged on Tuesday. Oil prices jumped, and many international markets saw gains. Midweek, U.S. markets were back in the red with Consumer Discretionary stocks taking the biggest hit. Thursday, both the S&P and Dow were nearly flat. The weekly Jobless Claims unexpectedly increased as the Department of Labor couldn’t point to any special factors. The four-week moving average still increased, but remained consistent with solid monthly job growth. Friday saw the markets decline yet again. Overall for the week, the markets ended down.

Market indices began the week positive with Consumer Discretionary stocks leading the way up while Energy brands trailed with West Texas Intermediate crude falling 2.5% to settle at $44.78 a barrel. The ISM Manufacturing Index slipped to 50.8 from March’s reading of 51.8. Economists had expected a lesser decrease to 51.5. Stocks fell to their lowest level in three weeks on Tuesday, likely because of weak manufacturing data from China. Energy stocks felt the effect of a continued slip in crude oil. The fall in Energy continued on Wednesday. Energy Information Administration figures showed U.S. reserves increased by 2.8 million barrels last week, versus the 1.2 million barrels expected. The services industry activity ticked up in April, as the ISM non-manufacturing index moved up to 55.7 from 54.5 in March, exceeding expectations. Factory orders rose as new orders ramped up 1.1%, also beating consensus expectations. Indices closed with mixed moves on Thursday with the Dow producing a slight gain while both the S&P 500 and NASDAQ shed some points. Labor Department data showed new jobless claims climbed by 17,000 to 274,000. Trading ended in green territory on Friday. Carmaker and raw materials brands stepped up and Energy sector stocks climbed on an upswing in crude oil. Labor Department data showed an addition of 160,000 jobs in April, which was well shy of an expected 200,000. Gains for February and March were revised down by a total of 19,000 while the unemployment rate held steady at 5%.

Declines in commodity-sensitive stocks caused the markets to trade slightly lower on Monday. Energy brands led the way down ahead of the Federal Reserve’s two-day April meeting. Commerce Department figures showed new home sales dipped in March, falling 1.5% to a rate of 511,000. February sales were upwardly revised to 519,000. Tuesday’s trading session ended mixed with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 index adding gains while the NASDAQ closed in the red. Moves were mixed on a variety of economic news, including a tick up in durable goods orders for March, and a fall in The Conference Board’s Consumer Confidence index. The mixed results continued Wednesday following comments from the April Federal Open Market Committee meeting. Policy makers left interest rates unchanged and left an increase in June unconfirmed. Thursday’s results were down across the board after the Commerce Department reported the U.S. economy grew at 0.5% in the first quarter, which was below analysts’ expectations. On Friday, West Texas Intermediate crude oil slipped 0.2% to settle at $45.92 a barrel. On another note, Commerce Department data showed consumer spending ticked up just slightly in March, increasing a mere 0.1%, half the amount anticipated. Personal income rose by 0.4% last month. The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index fell to 89 from 91, slightly below expectations of 90.

Indices began the week with gains as energy stocks stepped up on a slight dip in crude oil. Crude pared earlier losses as the session progressed. The markets closed with mixed moves on Tuesday when both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 index tacked on some points while the NASDAQ traded slightly into red territory.

The markets began the week on a down note as Healthcare stocks traded lower despite the step up by Financial stocks. West Texas Intermediate crude oil settled at $40.36 a barrel, which led to Energy stocks ramping up on Tuesday alongside a continued upswing in crude oil. Indices closed in positive territory on Wednesday on a variety of economic news. The Producer Price Index slipped 0.1% in March, while core goods prices rose 0.1% for the second straight month. Retail sales dipped 0.3% in March. Discounting cars, sales jumped 0.2%. Additionally, the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, which covered economic activity from mid-February through March, showed a modest to moderate rate of expansion in the majority of districts. Indices closed slightly mixed on Thursday. The Dow and S&P 500 added fractional gains, while the NASDAQ ended the session marginally in the red. Bank stocks in the Financials sector led advancers while Technology stocks retreated. Indices closed Friday’s session in red territory with stocks this time retreating on a variety of economic news. West Texas Intermediate crude lost its weekly gains to settle at $40.36 a barrel, where it began the week. In a preliminary measure, the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Survey showed a 1.3 point dip to 89.7 for April, versus expectations of an uptick to 91.8. 

The week began with a pullback in oil prices, which eroded the market’s recent rally. Commodities prices slipped, weighing on Energy and Materials shares. Many investors took comfort in Friday’s solid reading on U.S. manufacturing activity and the March jobs report, which further eased worries about the strength of the U.S. economy. However, concerns about sluggish global growth remained. The decline continued Tuesday with every sector in the S&P 500 falling, all but erasing the index’s gains for the year. The two-day losing streak was snapped Wednesday, led higher by Healthcare sector stocks. Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s March meeting showed policymakers left interest rates unchanged and reduced the number of planned rate increases to two from four. The market’s gains were short-lived as Financials and Energy stocks led the decline on Thursday. Friday’s gains were not enough to push the week into green territory, despite the rally in West Texas Intermediate crude.