(As of 10:14 am pacific)
Stocks open higher on positive US economic reports. The Empire State Manufacturing Index
rebounded to 17.1 in May ahead of expectations.
Retail sales cooled down in April after strong gains in the first 3
months of the year. The Commerce Dept.
reported that sales at US retailers increased just slightly, up 0.1% in
April. Many economists believe some
sales were pulled into March figures due to an early Easter holiday. The Consumer Price Index (CPI) remained in
check as falling gas prices offset rising prices of food, apparel and
autos. Core CPI, which excludes volatile
food and energy prices rose 0.2% in April.
Gas prices dropped 2.6% for the month.
The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo Index rose to 29 from
24 in April beating expectations and recording the best reading since May
2007. A reading of 50 or more means that
more builders view conditions as good versus poor. In Europe, stocks continued their retreat as
Greece heads to new elections after party leaders are unable to agree on the
formation of a coalition government. Fresh
elections will most likely take place in mid June. WTI crude oil fell 0.5% to 94.32 while gold
shed 0.42% to 1554.50. The US dollar was
mostly up across major currencies and the 10 yr. treasury yield rose slightly
to 1.78%. 30 yr. mortgage rates remained
near all-time lows at 3.75%. The VIX was
down 3.98% to 21.00 at 10:13 am pacific.
