(As of 7:20 am pacific)
Stocks are
lower this morning as several global economic reports paint a gloomier picture
than we’ve seen the past few weeks. Manufacturing activity continues to contract
in China and throughout Europe, making future monetary easing measures more
likely. Stocks in Asia responded
positively to more talks of Beijing stimulus, while European shares fell as the
data pointed to a likely recession in the 3rd quarter. Stocks are down in the US as investors
considered yesterday’s Fed meeting
release along with new jobs numbers reported this morning that showed jobless
claims rose by 4,000 last week. The Fed’s
meeting minutes from its July meeting showed an active discussion around
another round of stimulus, known as QE3.
There is a lot of expectation in the market right now for more stimulus,
and it seems each day’s direction is predicated on how likely that stimulus
will be. Dragging down tech stocks today
is blue-chip Hewlett Packard. The
computer maker reported its deepest loss ever and analysts slashed guidance. The dollar is down and interest rates are down
this morning as commodities are up with gold surging over 1.5%. Today looks like another opportunity for
investors to take profits after a nice run up the past few weeks.
