(As of 7:20 am PST)
US stocks are rallying this
morning after two straight days of selling, with the DJIA up 189 points in the
early going. Investors are digging through a deluge of economic data this
morning including a report on jobless claims which showed claims fell last week
from a 10-month high of 325,000 in the prior week to 289,000 in the week ending
March 1-7. Average monthly claims (a more stable data point) fell by 3,750 to
302,250, a good sign for the labor market. Other data showed US retail sales
declined in February, marking the third straight month of declines. Bad winter
weather and falling gas prices were the main causes for the drop in retail
sales, with sharply lower sales at gas stations leading the sector
lower. In company specific news, Intel is making headlines this morning after
the chip-maker cast a downbeat forecast for its first quarter sales citing
weaker demand for business desktop PC’s. In overseas action, European markets are mixed after
rallying yesterday. The ECB in its first 3 days of its QE program, has
purchased $10.3 billion in European bonds, sending the Euro lower and yields on
European debt to record lows. In Asia, markets finished the day mostly higher.
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