Category Archives: Economy

Stocks slightly higher; materials lead

THURSDAY – U.S. equities traded slightly higher Thursday, a day ahead of a key speech from Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen, and following the release of solid economic data.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose just 10 points, with Home Depot contributing the most losses. The S&P 500 rose about 0.15 percent, with materials leading. Investors also kept an eye on health care a day after posting its worst day since June 24.

The sector fell Wednesday after presidential candidate Hillary Clinton tweeted about Mylan’s price increases of the allergy drug EpiPen.

The three major indexes have held in a tight range recently amid low trading volume and a lack of volatility. On Wednesday, the S&P recorded its 33rd straight session without a 1 percent move on a closing basis.

Coming Up:

Thursday

Earnings: Autodesk, GameStop, Pure Storage, Splunk
1 p.m. $28 billion 7-year note auction

Friday

Earnings: Big Lots
Fed Chair Janet Yellen speaks at Jackson Hole, Wyoming
8:30 a.m. Real GDP Q2 (second); international trade
9:45 a.m. Services PMI
10 a.m. Consumer sentiment

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Dow Jones Down 100, But Retail Stocks Rise

U.S. stocks traded lower Monday, with energy stocks weighing as oil prices declined, as investors looked ahead to major earnings reports and central bank meetings.

Chevron, Exxon Mobil and UnitedHealth contributed the most to declines in the Dow Jones industrial average, which held about 100 points lower in afternoon trade. The Dow is up about 3 percent for the month so far.

No major economic data was due Monday. The Dallas Fed manufacturing index improved from June’s negative 18.3 to minus 1.3 in July. Second-quarter GDP and housing data are among the major reports due later in the week.

About nine stocks declined for every five advancers on the New York Stock Exchange, with an exchange volume of 423 million and a composite volume of 2.0 billion in afternoon trade.

Coming Up:

Tuesday:

Two-day Fed meeting begins

9 a.m. S&P/Case-Shiller home prices

9:45 a.m. Services PMI

10 a.m. New home sales<br>10 a.m. Consumer confidence

1 p.m. $34 billion 5-year note auction

Wednesday:

7 a.m. Mortgage applications

8:30 a.m. Durable goods; pending homes

11:30 a.m. $15 billion 2-year floating rate notes auction

2 p.m. FOMC rate decision

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All major indexes lower; oil falls after inventory data

THURSDAY – U.S. stocks traded narrowly mixed Thursday as investors eyed oil prices ahead of the highly anticipated jobs report due Friday.

The Dow Jones industrial average gave up opening gains to trade a touch lower, with Chevron, Exxon Mobil and Travelers having the greatest negative impact. The S&P 500 turned negative, attempting to hold the psychologically key 2,100 level. Utilities and telecoms led decliners, while energy also gave up earlier gains.

U.S. crude oil futures erased gains to trade more than 3 percent lower just below $46 a barrel after the EIA said weekly crude inventories declined 2.2 million barrels, far less than the 6.7 million barrel drawdown the American Petroleum Institute reported late Wednesday. A reversal in oil prices higher helped stocks close higher on Wednesday.

European markets bounced back Thursday, with the pan European Stoxx 600 Index trading more than 1 percent higher, helped by gains in banking stocks.

On the earnings front, PepsiCo reported better-than-expected earnings. Barracuda Networks and Helen of Troy are among companies set to report after the bell.

Coming Up:

Friday

8:30 a.m. Employment report
3 p.m. Consumer credit

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Dow Falls 100 Points

U.S. stocks opened lower Tuesday as the yen and euro strengthened against the dollar. Weaker-than-expected Chinese manufacturing data also weighed slightly.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 100 points soon after the open, with Goldman Sachs contributing the most to declines.

Among the few advancers were Pfizer and Apple, which attempted to break its first eight-day losing streak since 1998.

The euro traded near highs not seen since last August, while the yen was around its strongest against the dollar since October 2014. The dollar index hovered near 15-month lows after falling half a percent Monday for its sixth-straight day of decline.

Coming Up:

Tuesday

Earnings: Avis Budget, CBS, Illumina, Mylan Labs, Western Union, Etsy, Glu Mobile, Live Nation Entertainment, Match Group, Newfield Exploration, Noodles & Co., Papa John’s, Potbelly, Zillow

Vehicle sales
10:30 a.m. Cleveland Fed President Loretta Mester
7 p.m. Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart

Wednesday

Earnings: AB InBev, Priceline, Royal Dutch Shell, Siemens, Time Warner, Humana, IntercontinentalExchange, Zoetis, Cedar Fair, Kate Spade, Shopify, Shutterstock, Virtu Financial, Wix.com, 21st Century Fox, MetLife, Allstate, Fitbit, Kraft Heinz, Murphy Oil, Tesla Motors, Transocean, Whole Foods, Eldorado Gold, GoDaddy, Weight Watchers, Yamana Gold, Zynga

7 a.m.: Mortgage applications
8:15 a.m. ADP employment
8:30 a.m. International trade; productivity and costs
9:45 a.m. Services PMI
10 a.m. ISM nonmanufacturing; factory orders
10:30 a.m.: Oil inventories
6:30 p.m. Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari

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Dow Up 100+ In Early Trading

U.S. stocks traded higher Wednesday, following a global rally on encouraging China trade data, and helped by JPMorgan’s earnings beat.

The Dow Jones industrial average gained more than 100 points soon after the open. Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase contributed the most to gains.

Financials are the worst performing sector in the S&P 500 for the year so far.

The Nasdaq composite gained more than 1 percent with Apple and Amazon.com leading major tech stocks higher.

Coming Up:

Wednesday

Earnings: Pier 1 Imports, Kinder Morgan, Noble

10 a.m. Business inventories

10:30 a.m. EIA oil inventories

1 p.m. $20 billion 10-year note auction

2 p.m. Beige book

Thursday

Earnings: Bank of America, BlackRock, Wells Fargo, PNC Financial, First Republic Bank, Freeport-McMoRan, Snap-on, Advanced Micro, Delta Air Lines, Shaw Communications, Infosys

8 a.m. Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda at CFR, New York

8:30 a.m. Jobless claims

8:30 a.m. CPI

10 a.m. Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart

10 a.m. Fed Gov. Jerome Powell at Senate Banking subcommittee

1 p.m. $12 billion 30-year bond auction

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Stocks Start Lower Monday

U.S. stocks traded in a range Monday, after five straight weeks of gains, as investors eyed oil and housing data in the holiday-shortened week.

The major averages tried to reclaim opening losses to hold mostly higher, with telecommunications leading S&P 500 advancers and Boeing the top contributor to gains in the Dow Jones industrial average.

Citigroup traded more than 1 percent higher. KBW said in a Sunday note the firm “could be one of the only U.S. (global systematically important banks) that could successfully split up,” a move that “should unlock meaningful shareholder value—50+% returns versus the current market capitalization.”

The Nasdaq composite outperformed in morning trade, as Apple gained more than half a percent and the iShares Nasdaq Biotechnology ETF (IBB) rose 1.5 percent.

U.S. crude oil futures for April delivery attempted to hold higher above $39.50 a barrel. After the settle, the contract rolls to May, which was above $41 in morning trade.

Today’s Data:

Monday

12:40 p.m.: Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart speaks on the economic outlook and monetary policy.

8:30 p.m.: St. Louis Fed President James Bullard speaks on economic inequality

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Stocks Higher; S&P 500 Positive For 2016

U.S. stocks opened higher Friday, extending a recent rally as oil prices rose and the dollar weakened following the Federal Reserve’s more accommodative policy decision earlier in the week.

The S&P 500 traded in positive territory for 2016 with financials leading nearly all sectors higher.

U.S. crude oil futures for April delivery extended recent gains to briefly top $41 a barrel in morning trade ET.

Options expiration on Friday will likely contribute to volatility.

The U.S. dollar index recovered slightly from a recent decline to trade mildly higher, but is still off more than 1 percent for the week so far. The euro was just below $1.13 and the yen at 111.53 yen against the greenback.

Friday:
Quadruple Witching
10 a.m.: Consumer sentiment
10 a.m.: Atlanta Fed business inflation expectations
11 a.m.: Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren speaks
1 p.m.: Oil rig count
St. Louis Fed President James Bullard

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Stocks Try For Gains As Energy Rises

U.S. stocks traded in a narrow range Thursday as the Federal Reserve’s Wednesday announcement remained in focus amid several data releases.

The Dow Jones industrial average tried for slight gains in morning trade, with Exxon Mobil and Boeing among the top contributors to gains.

Energy led S&P 500 advancers.

Coming Up:

Thursday

Earnings: Adobe Systems
10 a.m.: JOLTS
10 a.m.: Leading indicators
10:30 a.m.: Natural gas inventories
4:30 p.m.: Fed balance sheet/Money supply

Friday

Quadruple Witching
Earnings: Tiffany
9 a.m.: New York Fed President William Dudley speaks
10 a.m.: Consumer sentiment
10 a.m.: Atlanta Fed business inflation expectations
11 a.m.: Boston Fed President Eric Rosengren speaks
1 p.m.: Oil rig count
1:30 p.m.: St. Louis Fed President James Bullard

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Nasdaq briefly positive; Street awaits Fed

WEDNESDAY – U.S. stocks traded in narrow range Wednesday after morning data and ahead of the scheduled afternoon conclusion of the Fed meeting.

Treasury yields climbed, with the 2-year topping 1 percent for its highest since Jan. 8, after inflation and housing data.

Stocks opened lower and held mostly in the red in morning trade. The Nasdaq composite briefly attempted gains.

The FOMC is due to conclude its two-day meeting on Wednesday with the 2 p.m. ET release of its statement and economic projections. Those include the highly scrutinized “dot plot,” which shows the targets for appropriate federal funds rates by FOMC participants. Fed Chair Janet Yellen is also scheduled to give a news conference at 2:30 p.m.

Oil traded higher, with WTI above $37 a barrel following news producers will meet next month in Qatar to discuss a proposal to freeze output.

Coming Up:

Wednesday

Earnings: FedEx, Ctrip.com Intl., Guess, Herman Miller, Jabil Circuit
10:30 a.m.: Oil inventories
1 p.m.: European Central Bank President Mario Draghi gives welcoming remarks at ECB Contemporary Art From Poland Exhibition
2 p.m.: FOMC meeting announcement
2:30 p.m.: Fed Chair Janet Yellen press conference

Thursday

Bank of England monetary policy announcement and minutes
Earnings: Tencent, Michaels Cos., Intl. Game Technology, Lands’ End, Adobe Systems
8:30 a.m.: Jobless claims
8:30 a.m.: Philly Fed business outlook survey
8:30 a.m.: Current account
10 a.m.: JOLTS
10 a.m.: Leading indicators
10:30 a.m.: Natural gas inventories
4:30 p.m.: Fed balance sheet/Money supply

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Energy offsets tech as Dow posts 5-day win streak

U.S. stocks closed mixed Monday, steadying after their first three-week rally of the year so far, as gains in energy stocks offset declines in technology.

The Dow Jones industrial average posted its first five-straight days of gains since October. Chevron, IBM and Exxon Mobil contributed the most to gains. Visa and Nike were the greatest contributors to declines.

The S&P 500 also posted a five-day win streak by eking out a gain and topping 2,000 in the close. Energy rose nearly 2.4 percent as the top advancer, while information technology ended about 0.7 percent lower as the greatest decliner.

Over the last four weeks, the sector is up about 9 percent from its intraday low.

The Nasdaq composite underperformed as the only index of major three to close a touch lower, weighed by declines of about 2 percent or more in shares of Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon and Alphabet.

Gains in oil supported the rise in energy stocks. Brent crude topped $40 a barrel for the first time in 2016, while WTI briefly topped $38 a barrel in intraday trade and settled up $1.98 at $37.90 a barrel, its highest level of the year so far.

The major averages opened lower and traded sideways for much of the session, before closing mixed.
Coming Up:
Tuesday
6 a.m. NFIB survey
1 p.m. $24 billion 3-year notes auction
Wednesday
7 a.m.: Mortgage applications
10 a.m. Wholesale trade
1 p.m. $20 billion 10-year notes auction

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