Market Roundup: Positive Week for Markets as Earnings Season Begins

The “Money Talks” hosts discuss the Nonmanufacturing Index, Job Openings and Labor Turnover, Federal Open Market Committee minutes from the March meeting, and oil inventories. Energy stocks were the market movers for the week, making headlines on Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. Labor Department data showed initial jobless claims ticked up by 14,000 to 281,000 last week versus an expected increase of 17,000.

Markets Drop More Than 2% During Rough Week

On both Monday and Tuesday, the markets saw light trading while the Consumer Price Index showed consumer prices increased 0.2% in February. The core CPI, which excludes energy and food, ticked up 0.2%, twice what economists were expecting. Midweek investors showed their concern over the rising dollar. On Friday, Commerce Department data showed the third and final fourth-quarter GDP reading remained at 2.2%, though shy of an expected uptick to 2.4%.  The final University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index registered a reading of 93, well above the preliminary 91.2, but down from February’s 95.4 reading.

Market Roundup: Markets Close Down in First Full Week of 2015

Friday’s session ended in red territory with Energy stocks leading the way, capping off a volatile week. During the week, stocks traded lower amid a further retreat in oil prices and a variety of economic news. U.S. factory orders declined in November, as new orders for manufactured goods fell 0.7%. However, the week’s news wasn’t all bad. The U.S. foreign trade gap narrowed to $39 billion in November from $42.2 billion in October. The ADP Jobs Report showed the private sector added 241,000 net positions in December, exceeding November’s addition of 227,000.