Monday, March 2, 2015

Economic Journal - Monday, 3/2/2015



(As of 7:15 am PST)

Stocks are higher to start on Monday as all three major US benchmarks opened in the green to start the month of March. It is a relatively quiet day with investors taking in economic data reports at the open of the session. A report on construction spending showed January spending falling 1.1%, more than the 0.2% growth expected while a report on manufacturing, the ISM index, showed manufacturing activity growing at a slightly slower pace than anticipated for February. Reports on personal incomes and spending for January, showed incomes rising slightly while consumer spending fell 0.2% last month, due mostly to cheaper energy prices. In overseas action, Asian markets finished the day higher, while European indexes are mostly down heading into the final hours of trade. Gold and oil are flat while interest rates ticked up as investors sold treasuries. It’s a quiet day with markets taking a surprise turn to the upside in the early going.

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