Tag Archives: Treasury Yields

Stocks close mostly lower

U.S. equities closed mostly lower on Friday as investors digested disappointing economic data, following a record-setting day on Thursday.

Retail sales for July came in unchanged, with economists expecting a 0.4 percent increase. Meanwhile, the July reading of the producer price index showed a decline of 0.4 percent, as economists forecast a 0.1 percent gain.

The weak retail sales data were released a day after strong earnings from retail giants Macy’s and Kohl’s pointed to further strength for the overall U.S. consumer.

Excluding Thursday, U.S. stocks have traded in a very narrow range this week, with volatility hovering around multi-year lows. The CBOE Volatility index (VIX), widely considered the best gauge of fear in the market, traded about 1.4 percent lower, near 11.5. In afternoon trade Friday, Schwab’s Frederick said there were four calls on on the Vix for every put in the options market, which indicates investors think the index “can’t go much lower.”

Earlier on Friday, the S&P and the Nasdaq briefly traded in positive territory.

TheDow Jones industrial averagefell 37.05 points, or 0.2 percent, to close at 18,576.47, with DuPont leading decliners and ExxonMobil the top advancer.

TheS&P 500 closed 1.74 points lower, or 0.08 percent, at 2,184.05, with materials leading seven sectors lower and energy the biggest riser.

TheNasdaq rose 4.5 points, or 0.09 percent, to end at 5,232.89.

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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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Stocks Tick Lower

U.S. stocks traded lower Thursday, but holding much of the week’s gains, after service sector reports and ahead of Friday’s jobs data.

The ISM non-manufacturing survey for February came in at 53.4. The figure was expected at 53, down from 53.5 in January.

January factory orders rose 1.6 percent.

The 2-year Treasury yield edged lower to 0.84 percent. The 10-year yield held steady at 1.85 percent.

The U.S. dollar index extended losses, with the euro at $1.093.

The final February Markit services PMI was 49.7, down from January’s final 53.2 print

Oil held lower in choppy trade but remained above $34 a barrel as of 9:53 a.m.
Coming Up:
Thursday
Earnings: Kroger, Royal Ahold, Barnes and Noble, Joy Global, Broadcom, Embraer, Ciena, Trina Solar, Cooper Cos.
10:30 a.m.: Natural gas inventories
10:45 a.m.: Dallas Fed President Rob Kaplan speaks
Friday
Earnings: Staples, WPP Group
8:30 a.m. Employment report; international trade
1 p.m.: Oil rig count

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Stock Market: The Week Ahead

With next week’s calendar full of economic data releases and speeches by economic policymakers, investors have been poised to watch the Federal Reserve for clues about the U.S. central bank’s next move, but an unexpectedly hot reading on inflation on Friday will further sharpen that focus.

After coming into 2016 with an expectation of three or four interest rate hikes through the year, market participants recently were viewing the Fed as likely raising interest rates once, if at all, in light of weak inflation and global volatility.

But Friday’s data showed the core consumer price index (CPI), a measure of underlying U.S. inflation, rose in January by the most in nearly 4-1/2 years to a 2.2 percent annualized rate. It drew particular attention as the number was above the Fed’s 2.0 percent target, though it is not the central bank’s benchmark inflation measure.

The uptick in price pressures has already shifted the market’s expectations on the Fed’s next move.

The dollar rose alongside Treasury yields shortly after the data, as markets saw the higher inflation as nudging the Fed toward tightening policy. The euro hit its lowest since Feb. 3.

Equity markets have also closely followed expectations on Fed policy. Lower rates tend to support stocks in general, with high-paying dividend names like utilities gaining investors’ favor. In an environment of rising rates, banks tend to take the lead.

The expectation of higher interest rates has been cited as one of the reasons for stocks having fallen as much as 11 percent this year. The S&P 500 .SPX is down 6 percent so far in 2016, and on track for its third positive week of the year.

The inflation numbers add to recent economic data, including a stronger job market and consumer spending, that will force the Fed to seriously reconsider more rate hikes, said Jim Paulsen, chief investment officer at Wells Capital Management in Minneapolis.

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