Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Economic Journal - Wednesday, 3/23/2016

(As of 7:25am, PST)


U.S. stocks have opened lower today after ending a seven session rally yesterday following the tragic news of yet another terrorist strike in Europe. Investors appear to be cautious following the news from Brussels but the culprit for today’s pullback is once again oil. In the early going, oil is down almost 2% and all of the major indices are following suit. Oil’s drop is being fueled by a report from the American Petroleum Institute report that showed an 8.8 million barrel build in crude inventories stirring up concerns of a supply glut.  On a positive note, the New Home Sales report for February was just released and it contained some signs that there is still life in the housing market. New home sales hit their highest level since December. The median sales price in February was $301,400 which was up 6.2% compared to January. Stocks to keep an eye on today are Nike and Krispy Kreme. Nike is off nearly 5% today after a report yesterday revealed that their revenue fell short of expectations. Krispy Kreme shares were down 9% following a report of weaker-than-expected revenue growth during the holiday quarter. Investors will have a lot to chew on in the coming weeks as earnings season gets underway. The global markets showed some resiliency overnight despite the tragedy in Belgium with Asian and European markets only down modestly. Gold prices are down today as are interest rates.

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