Category Archives: Economy/Stock Market

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.

The markets started the week mixed, with both the Dow and S&P 500 closing Monday with gains, while the NASDAQ shed some points. Trading was likely mixed ahead of the March employment numbers, manufacturing and construction data that were scheduled for release later in the week. Personal income increased 0.2% in February, versus a forecast of no change. On Tuesday, stocks flourished on Federal Reserve comments. Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen emphasized a gradual, “as needed” approach to moving on interest rates. Meanwhile, consumer confidence ticked up in March. Conference Board data showed confidence increased 2.2 points to 96.2 this month. Home prices also increased 5.7% in January, according to the S&P/Case-Shiller 20-city index. Indices traded well into the green zone on Wednesday, with Technology stocks leading the way up. Crude oil moved higher on a smaller-than-expected jump in recent inventories. The ADP National Employment Report showed 200,000 jobs were added to the private sector in March. The market indices closed with mixed moves on Thursday, as investors proceeded with caution ahead of monthly employment numbers due out the following day. The Institute for Supply Management numbers showed economic activity in the Chicago area rebounded in March, as the Chicago PMI hit 53.6. The markets ended the week with a positive day of trading. U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday following positive reports on employment and manufacturing in the United States. The latest employment report showed 215,000 jobs were added in March, and average hourly earnings rose as well. The ISM manufacturing index also rose more than expected.

The week began with mixed results as the Dow Jones Industrial Average and NASDAQ added marginal gains, while the S&P 500 closed slightly in the red. Investors likely traded with caution in anticipation of comments coming from the Federal Reserve meeting that were due later in the week. Mixed results continued the following day as West Texas Intermediate crude dipped 2.3% to settle at $36.34 a barrel and a variety of economic news was released. U.S. retail sales decreased in February, falling 0.1%, which was in line with estimates. Sales for January were downwardly revised to a 0.4% retreat. Stocks were up midweek on comments from the Federal Reserve’s two-day meeting. Policymakers held interest rates unchanged and now anticipate two rate hikes this year versus December’s forecast of as many as four. Meanwhile, West Texas Intermediate crude tacked on 4%, providing a boost to Energy sector stocks. The Consumer Price Index dipped 0.2%; however, the core measure, which discounts food and energy, ticked up 0.3%. Thursday saw Energy stocks increase as crude oil touched $40.20 a barrel. The rally continued on Friday, spurred by a variety of economic news. In a preliminary measure, the University of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index fell 1.7 points in March to a reading of 90, which was shy of the consensus forecast for a slight uptick. The rally from Wednesday to Friday was able to push the S&P 500 into positive territory year to date.

The week began with both the S&P 500 and the Dow increasing for a fifth session in a row, marking their longest winning streaks since October. A rebound in commodities prices helped stoke the recent rally. Oil prices have risen steadily since Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela and Qatar agreed last month to freeze their output at January levels. Additionally, Friday’s strong U.S. jobs report calmed concerns, helping interest rates edge higher. The next day, the five-day winning streak was snapped as supply woes weighed on oil prices and worries about a prolonged slowdown in China resurfaced. Crude-oil tumbled, leading the market to resume its doubts over the potential for an output freeze. Gains in utilities and consumer-staples stocks imply that investors remain cautious in the wake of the recent rally. Stocks ticked higher Wednesday, led by a rise in energy shares after government data showed inventories of gasoline and other fuels fell, reflecting strong demand. In a pleasant surprise, wholesale inventories rose 0.3% in January, the first increase after three months of declines. Analysts expect Fed officials will likely to keep short-term interest rates unchanged at their March meeting, but leave open the possibility of rate rises in April and June. The European Central Bank cut interest rates in the Eurozone to zero, expanding its money printing program as it seeks to revive the region’s economy and fend off deflation. Indices closed the week well into the green zone on Friday. Energy stocks traded up on a jump in crude oil.

Monday brought February to a close with the S&P fell 0.41% in February after losing 5.07% in January, putting its year-to-date loss at 5.47%. Worries about China’s economy, depressed oil prices and signs of deflation in the Eurozone all weighed on the market. Tuesday, the stock indexes surged to their highest levels in nearly two months on signs of improvement in the U.S. economy. The Institute for Supply Management’s manufacturing index rose more than anticipated, rising from 48.2 in January to 49.5 in February. Though the index remained below the neutral threshold of 50, there was improvement in the production and inventory index. Higher oil prices fueled a rally mid-week, as energy shares led the S&P 500 up. Data showing continued strength in the labor market attracted attention as investors search for clues about when the Fed will make its next interest-rate increase.  On Thursday, the Non-Manufacturing Index from the Institute for Supply Management indicates growth in February at 53.4%. The index for January was 53.5%, thus reflecting growth, but at a slower rate. The news from the employment sector continues to be favorable based on the latest report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 242,000 in February, while the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.9%.

The week saw a mixed bag of information from some major economic sectors, which may have influenced the equities markets to record some marginal gains by week’s end. On Monday, both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and the S&P 500 indices increasing 1.4% to reach more than six-week highs, despite the day coming in as the second lowest volume trading day for the year. The gains were nearly wiped out the next day when there was speculation about energy-company loan defaults. Energy companies fell sharply after Saudi Arabia’s oil minister said not to expect production cuts. The falling oil prices created a drag on shares of exploration-and-production companies, with energy stocks in the S&P 500 falling 3.2%. By mid-week, U.S. stocks rose, recovering from earlier losses as oil prices turned higher. The rebound was broad-based, with nearly every S&P 500 sector eking out a gain. In economic news, the latest report from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed consumers increased spending in January, as personal spending increased 0.5% from December. New orders for durable goods rose 4.9% in January, following a steep decline in December. The important details on core capital goods were positive overall, with orders up 3.9% and shipments down just 0.4%.

Despite being closed Monday in honor of the President’s Day holiday, stocks got off to a great start on Tuesday after being beaten down on a global economic slowdown. The S&P 500 rallied to its biggest two-session gain since August as investors piled into Financial and Technology stocks and sold off other “safer” asset classes such as gold and treasury bonds.

The week began with a tumble in oil prices and more signs of economic weakness in China, which resulted in modest losses for most of the trading session. However, stocks pushed higher in the last hour of trading to close the day nearly flat. U.S. and European stock indices fell sharply on Tuesday, and buyers sought safe-haven government bonds after another tumble in oil prices. Additionally, Energy stocks retreated after reporting less-than-optimum earnings details. Wednesday proved to be another day saved by a late session rally. The Dow staged a rebound from early low levels to close higher. The S&P 500 landed in the green while the NASDAQ shed some points. The Institute for Supply Management showed a downtick to 53.5 in January from 55.8 in December, marking the slowest pace for services industry activity since February 2014. Stocks climbed on Thursday despite volatile trading. Labor Department data showed initial jobless claims increased by 8,000 to 285,000 last week, while continuing claims decreased by 18,000 to 2.255 million. Non-farm business productivity slipped 3% in the fourth quarter of 2015, versus a 2.1% uptick in the third quarter. Technology stocks led the way down on Friday as stocks traded lower on a variety of economic news. The economy added fewer jobs than expected in January. Payrolls increased by 151,000 versus an anticipated addition of 190,000, while the unemployment rate ticked down to 4.9%.