(As of 8:07 am pacific)
Stocks drifted lower as Europe grapples with bank
concerns. Reuters reported this morning
that Spain’s Catalonia is running out of debt financing options. Several other regional governments have
requested help in regaining access to capital markets. Spain’s banking concerns seem to be weighing
on the US markets more than positive US economic news. In the US, the University of Michigan/Thomson
Reuters consumer sentiment index climbed to 79.3 in May from 76.4 in April. It was the highest level since October
2007. In the year before the recession
the confidence reading averaged 87. In
Europe, research firm GfK reported the German consumer confidence index was
steady in May at 5.7, with an identical reading forecasted for the month of
June. Asian stocks traded choppy on
Friday amid concerns over slowing Chinese bank lending and uncertainty over the
European debt crisis. Oil was up slightly
to 90.83 and gold edged up 0.38% to 1566.
The US dollar was mixed and the 10 yr. treasury yield fell slightly to
1.75%. 30 yr. mortgage rates edged up to
3.82%. The volatility index (VIX) rose
slightly, up 1.16% to 21.78.
