Economic Journal - Friday, 2/27/2015

(As of 7:20 am PST)

US markets opened slightly below the unchanged line as investors reacted to mixed economic data and geared up for another landmark day as the Nasdaq composite index approached 5,000.  Stock futures moved early as the second revision of Q4 GDP showed the US economy grew at a slower pace than originally expected. According to the second revision, the economy grew at a 2.2% pace versus a prior estimate of 2.6%. Shortly after the bell, a report on Chicago PMI caught investors by surprise with PMI dropping to a five-and-a-half year low, from 59.4 in January to 45.8 in February. Reasons cited for the contraction included the West Coast port strike and the harsh winter that has struck most of the nation. Lastly, a report on housing activity showed pending home sales rose in January to the highest level since August 2013.  Europe and Asia are mixed on the day but, along with US markets, were on pace to record strong gains for February. Oil is up 1.5% today, looking to add to positive gains seen this month, while Gold is trading flat. If markets can hold on today, they would close out a strong February rally that saw record setting highs on most US benchmarks while erasing a dreadful January trading month.  

Economic Journal - Thursday, 2/26/2015

(As of 7:25 am PST)

Investors are wading through a slew of economic data this morning, as US equities opened slightly in the red. Data for the most part is weaker than expected which seems to be causing the negative sentiment early. Jobless claims jumped 31,000 to 313,000 last week, the highest level seen in seven weeks. Consumer prices tumbled 0.7% in January fueled by lower oil prices. Excluding the volatile food and energy sectors, core CPI inched up by 0.2%, slightly higher than expected. Lastly, a report on durable goods improved in January, but was not enough to turn equities higher. In overseas developments, Asian indexes finished the day mixed while most European stocks were higher as economic data was plentiful. Gold is higher and oil is giving back some of yesterday’s gains. Interest rates are flat today while the US dollar is higher. Barring any unexpected macro events, expect the market to continue this tight range bound trade for the remainder of the day and week.

Economic Journal - Wednesday, 2/25/2015

(As of 7:15 am PST)

 

Stocks opened flat this morning after recording modest gains yesterday as investors geared up for Day 2 of Federal Reserve Chairwoman Janet Yellen’s congressional testimony. Stocks got a lift Tuesday after dovish comments from Yellen which seemed to point to a rate hike coming in the second half of the year. The Dow and S&P500 both grabbed record closes with the Nasdaq making headlines as the tech heavy index approaches its March 2000 peak of 5,000 pts. The economic calendar is light today with a report on housing showing new US home sales coming in flat in January at an annual pace of 481,000. The data beat consensus as analysts had forecast sales to fall in January. Also making headlines today, was a disappointing earnings report from Hewlett-Packard. H-P shares are down 9% in early trading after reporting slumping revenues and lowering its outlook for 2015. Financial news is mixed around the rest of the globe. Asian markets finished mixed while the major European benchmarks look to finish lower as Germany stands ready to vote on the four month loan extension for Greece tomorrow. Gold is up and oil down slightly while the 10 yr. treasury yield is flat, hovering just below 2.0%.