(As of 7:15 am PST)
Stocks are off to another great start this morning as upbeat
economic reports are fueling the positive trade. July housing starts came in better than
expected with construction on new US homes rising 15.7% in July. June’s decline in new construction was also
revised upward. Building permits, a sign
of future demand, also rose sharply, up 8.1% from June. Both reports indicate a recovering housing
market after a slowdown earlier in the year.
In other economic news, a report on US consumer prices showed prices
rising by a scant 0.1%, in line with expectations. International markets are higher with Asian
indexes finishing the day strong and European stocks making a push for gains in
the final hours of trading. Gold and oil
are both lower as are interest rates.
Attention will turn for the rest of the week to the Federal Reserve’s
release of the latest FOMC minutes and the Fed’s annual meeting at Jackson
Hole. Investors will be looking for
communication around monetary policy and the Fed’s plans for its first rate
hike.
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