(As of 7:10 am PST)
Stocks are lower heading into
Friday’s session, but with yesterday’s rally the S&P500 and Dow remain
firmly on track for solid weekly gains. Thursday’s rally came on the heels of a
new stimulus program announced by the European Central Bank. Although the
policy action was widely expected by global investors, the size and scope
outpaced expectations and had markets cheering the “easy money”. Asian markets
responded today with broad based gains, while European indexes also moved
notably higher. Earnings results are mostly positive this morning with
McDonald’s and General Electric beating forecasts. Economic data is light but
mostly upbeat. Existing home sales showed sales rose 2.4% in December, while a
report on leading economic indicators rose in December, beating expectations
and pointing to steady growth for early 2015. Oil is down 1% today to $45.90
per barrel while gold is also down after closing above $1,300/oz. yesterday. It
looks like US markets are set for a breather today after a week of strong
gains.
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