Dow gained 74 after yesterday's drop, advancers ahead of decliners 5-4 & NAZ lost 1. The MLP index was off fractionally to 240, extending its drear decline shown below) & the REIT index fell 1+ to the 223s. Junk bond funds rose & Treasuries flattish despite the turmoil in DC. Oil went back up to the 65s & gold surged 18 to 1346.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
Pres Trump said he's considering a veto of the $1.3T spending bill that won final passage by Congress, reversing his administration's previous statements & raising the prospect that he'll shut down the gov over the failure to get a deal on immigration & his border wall. US gov funding is set to expire at midnight & if Trump follows thru on his threat it almost assuredly would trigger the 3rd partial shutdown of the year. “I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded,’ Trump tweeted. Many members of the House left DC after that chamber passed the massive spending bill & striking a deal on immigration would require negotiations that so far have failed. The Senate voted early today morning to approve final passage. White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said yesterday that Trump would sign the measure because it funds his priorities. “Let’s cut right to the chase. Is the president going to sign the bill? The answer is yes. Why? Because it funds his priorities,” he said. House Speaker Paul Ryan delivered a summary of the bill to Pres Trump Wednesday. Both Ryan's office & the White House released statements afterward saying the pres & the 2 congressional leaders discussed their support for the legislation. The statement from the speaker's office said they had a conversation “about the wins delivered for the president” in the bill.
Trump Threatens Spending Bill Veto, Raising Prospect of Shutdown
Sales of new US homes fell for a 3rd straight month & supply swelled to the highest since 2009, suggesting that surging prices are increasingly deterring buyers, according to gov data. Single-family home sales fell 0.6% M/M to 618K annualized pace (est 620K) after 622K rate (revised from 593K (Nov.& Dec figures also revised upward). The median sales price increased 9.7% Y/Y to $326K (biggest gain since Dec 2016). Supply of homes at current sales rate rose to 5.9 months, highest since Aug, from 5.8 months; number of homes for sale at 305K, most since 2009. The data point to a general cooling of the new-homes market. At the same time, the upward revision to the Jan figure means the market was probably better overall in the first 2 months of the year than had anticipated. Some of the strength in late 2017 may also reflect increased demand after hurricanes damaged homes in the South. Steady hiring & elevated consumer confidence are expected to support demand for housing. Meanwhile, borrowing costs are picking up & property-price appreciation continues to outpace wage growth. That's crimping affordability, especially for younger residents & first-time buyers. The report contrasts with figures earlier this week showing existing-home sales rebounded in Feb despite tight inventory.
Orders placed with US factories for business equipment snapped back in Feb after 2 months of declines, consistent with steady manufacturing growth, a Commerce Dept report showed. Non-military capital goods orders excluding aircraft rose 1.8% (est up 0.9%), the biggest advance since Sep, after falling a downwardly revised 0.4% in Jan.. Shipments of those goods, which are used to calculate GDP, increased 1.4% (est up 0.5%); Jan. revised up to a 0.1% increase (prev down 0.1%). Bookings for all durable goods, items meant to last at least 3 years, rose 3.1% (est 1.6% gain) following a 3.5% decrease. The bigger-than-expected rebound in the data suggests corp outlays for equipment will remain strong in Q1 after accelerating for 5 straight qtrs & some analysts may upgrade tracking estimates for Q1 figures. While there still may be a tempering in the pace of investment, spending continues to be supported by firmer global economic growth & lower tax rates. That was also the message from Federal Reserve policy makers this week. In their statement accompanying their meeting, officials said “recent data suggest that growth rates of household spending and business fixed investment have moderated from their strong fourth-quarter readings.” Still, they posited that the “economic outlook has strengthened in recent months.” The sizable jump in Feb figures reflected increases in categories including primary metals, fabricated metal products, machinery & electrical equipment & appliances. That could also reflect possible efforts by businesses to place orders before Trump administration tariffs on imported steel & aluminum took effect. Investors & economists will watch data including durable goods & trade closely in coming months for any indications of an impact from the tariffs & other trade & retaliatory measures.
U.S. Capital-Equipment Orders Rebound by More Than Forecast
This is pretty much a mixed day for stocks. The Dow is up, recovering some of yesterday's drop, but techs are weak. Economic data was helpful, but the tariff wars look to be heating up & the sudden likelihood of a gov shutdown (again) is unsettling for traders. No shortage of drama out of DC. Dow is flirting with 24K, just a couple of days ago it was trading sideways around 25K. That is not a good sign for stocks. One exception are REITs. They have been holding fairly well while the rest of the markets have sold off. Intl trade turmoil is not expected to bother them too much.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
| CL=F | Crude Oil | 65.14 | +0.84 | +1.3% |
| GC=F | Gold | 1,347.40 | +20.00 | +1.5% |
Pres Trump said he's considering a veto of the $1.3T spending bill that won final passage by Congress, reversing his administration's previous statements & raising the prospect that he'll shut down the gov over the failure to get a deal on immigration & his border wall. US gov funding is set to expire at midnight & if Trump follows thru on his threat it almost assuredly would trigger the 3rd partial shutdown of the year. “I am considering a VETO of the Omnibus Spending Bill based on the fact that the 800,000 plus DACA recipients have been totally abandoned by the Democrats (not even mentioned in Bill) and the BORDER WALL, which is desperately needed for our National Defense, is not fully funded,’ Trump tweeted. Many members of the House left DC after that chamber passed the massive spending bill & striking a deal on immigration would require negotiations that so far have failed. The Senate voted early today morning to approve final passage. White House budget director Mick Mulvaney said yesterday that Trump would sign the measure because it funds his priorities. “Let’s cut right to the chase. Is the president going to sign the bill? The answer is yes. Why? Because it funds his priorities,” he said. House Speaker Paul Ryan delivered a summary of the bill to Pres Trump Wednesday. Both Ryan's office & the White House released statements afterward saying the pres & the 2 congressional leaders discussed their support for the legislation. The statement from the speaker's office said they had a conversation “about the wins delivered for the president” in the bill.
Trump Threatens Spending Bill Veto, Raising Prospect of Shutdown
Sales of new US homes fell for a 3rd straight month & supply swelled to the highest since 2009, suggesting that surging prices are increasingly deterring buyers, according to gov data. Single-family home sales fell 0.6% M/M to 618K annualized pace (est 620K) after 622K rate (revised from 593K (Nov.& Dec figures also revised upward). The median sales price increased 9.7% Y/Y to $326K (biggest gain since Dec 2016). Supply of homes at current sales rate rose to 5.9 months, highest since Aug, from 5.8 months; number of homes for sale at 305K, most since 2009. The data point to a general cooling of the new-homes market. At the same time, the upward revision to the Jan figure means the market was probably better overall in the first 2 months of the year than had anticipated. Some of the strength in late 2017 may also reflect increased demand after hurricanes damaged homes in the South. Steady hiring & elevated consumer confidence are expected to support demand for housing. Meanwhile, borrowing costs are picking up & property-price appreciation continues to outpace wage growth. That's crimping affordability, especially for younger residents & first-time buyers. The report contrasts with figures earlier this week showing existing-home sales rebounded in Feb despite tight inventory.
New-Home Sales in U.S. Cool for Third Month as Prices Surge
Orders placed with US factories for business equipment snapped back in Feb after 2 months of declines, consistent with steady manufacturing growth, a Commerce Dept report showed. Non-military capital goods orders excluding aircraft rose 1.8% (est up 0.9%), the biggest advance since Sep, after falling a downwardly revised 0.4% in Jan.. Shipments of those goods, which are used to calculate GDP, increased 1.4% (est up 0.5%); Jan. revised up to a 0.1% increase (prev down 0.1%). Bookings for all durable goods, items meant to last at least 3 years, rose 3.1% (est 1.6% gain) following a 3.5% decrease. The bigger-than-expected rebound in the data suggests corp outlays for equipment will remain strong in Q1 after accelerating for 5 straight qtrs & some analysts may upgrade tracking estimates for Q1 figures. While there still may be a tempering in the pace of investment, spending continues to be supported by firmer global economic growth & lower tax rates. That was also the message from Federal Reserve policy makers this week. In their statement accompanying their meeting, officials said “recent data suggest that growth rates of household spending and business fixed investment have moderated from their strong fourth-quarter readings.” Still, they posited that the “economic outlook has strengthened in recent months.” The sizable jump in Feb figures reflected increases in categories including primary metals, fabricated metal products, machinery & electrical equipment & appliances. That could also reflect possible efforts by businesses to place orders before Trump administration tariffs on imported steel & aluminum took effect. Investors & economists will watch data including durable goods & trade closely in coming months for any indications of an impact from the tariffs & other trade & retaliatory measures.
U.S. Capital-Equipment Orders Rebound by More Than Forecast
This is pretty much a mixed day for stocks. The Dow is up, recovering some of yesterday's drop, but techs are weak. Economic data was helpful, but the tariff wars look to be heating up & the sudden likelihood of a gov shutdown (again) is unsettling for traders. No shortage of drama out of DC. Dow is flirting with 24K, just a couple of days ago it was trading sideways around 25K. That is not a good sign for stocks. One exception are REITs. They have been holding fairly well while the rest of the markets have sold off. Intl trade turmoil is not expected to bother them too much.
Dow Jones Industrials
No comments:
Post a Comment