Dow was essentially even (off less than 1), decliners over advancers more than 2-1 & NAZ edged up 10. The MLP index went up 1+ to 199 & the REIT index added 3+ to the 425s (record close). Junk bond funds continued slightly higher & Treasuries were weak. Oil crawled higher in the 49s & gold was off 8 to 1571 (more on both below).
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](https://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif?0.2180338269244485)
American households added $193B of debt in Q4, driven by a surge in mortgage loans & overall debt levels rose to a new record at $14.15T, the Federal Reserve Bank of NY said. Mortgage balances rose by $120B in Q4 to $9.56T, the NY Fed said in its quarterly report on household debt. Mortgage originations - pushed up by an increase in refinancing - also rose to $752B in Q4, reaching the highest volume since 2005, the report found. Non-housing debt, including auto loans, credit cards & student loans, rose by $79B. "Mortgage originations, including refinances, increased significantly in the final quarter of 2019, with auto loan originations also remaining at the brisk pace seen throughout the year,'' Wilbert Van Der Klaauw, senior VP at the NY Fed, said. "The data also show that transitions into delinquency among credit card borrowers have steadily risen since 2016, notably among younger borrowers.'' Some 2.36% of loans became more than 90 days delinquent in Q4, driven down by a low rate of delinquencies for mortgage loans. New foreclosures remained low by historical standards, with 71K notations added to credit reports in the Oct-Dec period. However, delinquencies rose for credit cards & student loans - with young borrowers seeing the biggest increase. Researchers said the rising delinquencies among borrowers in their 20s & 30s could be related to high levels of student loan debt, which could make it difficult for consumers to afford their bills.
Global trade policy uncertainty has declined, but policy makers must wait to see whether it has dampened enough to encourage global manufacturing, said St Louis Fed Pres James Bullard. Trade uncertainty abated as the US & China signed a trade accord, Congress approved the new Nafta (North American Free Trade Agreement), with Mexico & Canada & the UK approved a plan to depart the EU, Bullard said in a speech today. “Let’s wait and see” whether the new environment will boost business investment, Bullard added. Another question facing the economy is whether the coronavirus outbreak, which reportedly originated in Wuhan City, China, can be contained. Experience with previous viral outbreaks “suggests that the effects on U.S. interest rates can be tangible and last until the outbreak is clearly contained,” Bullard said. A 3rd question is whether Bullard interest-sensitive sectors will respond to last years 3 qtr-point rate cuts that took benchmark rates to 1.50%-1.75%. Overall, Bullard said he thinks there is still a “reasonable chance” a soft landing of the US economy will be achieved. A soft landing is when the economy slows to its trend growth rate without collapsing. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told Congress earlier today the Fed is “closely watching” the emergence of the infectious disease, now known as COVID-19, in China that has infected some 43K & claimed more than 1K lives.
Gold futures ended lower for the first time in 5 sessions as global equity markets punched higher, with the moves being attributed to an apparent slowdown in the spread of the coronavirus. More than 43K cases of the Wuhan virus have been confirmed, with more than 1K deaths, according to the World Health Organization. Against that backdrop, the Dow & S&P 500 were trading as gold futures settled, dulling haven demand for the precious metal. The 10-year benchmark Treasury note yield was also up at 1.589%. Bond prices fall as yields climb. Meanwhile, Apr gold fell $9.40 (0.6%) to settle at $1570 an ounce, putting an end to a 4-session win streak that yesterday sent prices to the highest settlement in a week. The moves in metals came as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in prepared remarks said the central bank is monitoring the fast-moving disease. “We are closely monitoring the emergence of the coronavirus, which could lead to disruptions in China that spill over to the rest of the global economy,” he wrote. The remarks are part of a 2-day, semiannual congressional hearing on monetary policy with the House Financial Services Committee.
Spring hiring has sprung in the home improvement space. Home Depot (HD), a Dow stock, is hiring 80K workers this spring ahead of its busiest time of year. The home improvement retailer will be taking applications for full-time & part-time positions in its garden center, overnight freight department & merchandising & in other customer service roles across store departments in addition to warehouse associates for its distribution centers over the next several months. While the job market has shown steady growth, hourly wages for Americans rose just 7¢ to $28.44 last month following a 3.1% increase in the last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' jobs report. The market gained 225K jobs with unemployment at a 50-year-low of 3.6%. HD had sales of $108.2B & earnings of $11.1B in fiscal 2018. The company employs more than 400K & said it would provide job training programs & resources such as e-learning & on-the-job coaching. The stock was up 1.03.
If you would like to learn more about HD, click on this link:
Oil futures settled with a gain to recoup some of the losses seen a day earlier when they posted their lowest settlement in more than a year. Analysts tied gains to a slowdown in the number of new cases in China of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus that emerged in the country late last year. Worries remain, however, over how the outbreak will affect crude demand, amplified by uncertainty over whether OPEC & its allies will agree to an additional output cut in response to the viral outbreak. West Texas Intermediate crude for Mar delivery rose 37¢ (0.8%) to settle at $49.94 a barrel, while Apr Brent crude tacked on 74¢ (1.4%) to $54.01 a barrel. Oil has tumbled sharply in 2020, slipping into a bear market last week, on rising concerns over the COVID-19 outbreak. Prices for both benchmarks settled yesterday at their lowest in over a year. China's National Health Commission said in its daily update that 108 deaths were reported in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total over 1K deaths in mainland China since the disease emerged in Dec. The number of new, confirmed cases fell to 2.5K from 3.1K a day earlier, bringing the total to 43K on the mainland, including some of whom have since recovered & been released from treatment. Traders were also looking for signs as to whether Russia will go along with an OPEC+ recommendation to curb oil output by an additional 600K barrels a day. Russia's hesitation in endorsing the proposal was blamed in part for pressure on crude prices yesterday. Prices for US benchmark WTI crude futures pared some of their earlier gains after a monthly short-term energy outlook report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released today revealed lower 2020 forecasts for WTI & Brent crude oil prices. The EIA also reduced its expectations for US crude-oil production.
Oil ends higher as investors see slowdown in new coronavirus cases
The sellers came in during the PM & dragged down the market. Stocks have had an excellent run in Feb (shown below) & profit taking was in order. Additionally, doubts remain about the ability of the Chinese authorities to get the coronavirus under control. Meanwhile macro economic data for the US continues to be fairly good which is why the bulls are still in command of the stock market. They have been able to keep bidding stocks prices higher & may be able to take the Dow over 30K in the near future.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
American households added $193B of debt in Q4, driven by a surge in mortgage loans & overall debt levels rose to a new record at $14.15T, the Federal Reserve Bank of NY said. Mortgage balances rose by $120B in Q4 to $9.56T, the NY Fed said in its quarterly report on household debt. Mortgage originations - pushed up by an increase in refinancing - also rose to $752B in Q4, reaching the highest volume since 2005, the report found. Non-housing debt, including auto loans, credit cards & student loans, rose by $79B. "Mortgage originations, including refinances, increased significantly in the final quarter of 2019, with auto loan originations also remaining at the brisk pace seen throughout the year,'' Wilbert Van Der Klaauw, senior VP at the NY Fed, said. "The data also show that transitions into delinquency among credit card borrowers have steadily risen since 2016, notably among younger borrowers.'' Some 2.36% of loans became more than 90 days delinquent in Q4, driven down by a low rate of delinquencies for mortgage loans. New foreclosures remained low by historical standards, with 71K notations added to credit reports in the Oct-Dec period. However, delinquencies rose for credit cards & student loans - with young borrowers seeing the biggest increase. Researchers said the rising delinquencies among borrowers in their 20s & 30s could be related to high levels of student loan debt, which could make it difficult for consumers to afford their bills.
US household debt tops $14T, reaching new record
Global trade policy uncertainty has declined, but policy makers must wait to see whether it has dampened enough to encourage global manufacturing, said St Louis Fed Pres James Bullard. Trade uncertainty abated as the US & China signed a trade accord, Congress approved the new Nafta (North American Free Trade Agreement), with Mexico & Canada & the UK approved a plan to depart the EU, Bullard said in a speech today. “Let’s wait and see” whether the new environment will boost business investment, Bullard added. Another question facing the economy is whether the coronavirus outbreak, which reportedly originated in Wuhan City, China, can be contained. Experience with previous viral outbreaks “suggests that the effects on U.S. interest rates can be tangible and last until the outbreak is clearly contained,” Bullard said. A 3rd question is whether Bullard interest-sensitive sectors will respond to last years 3 qtr-point rate cuts that took benchmark rates to 1.50%-1.75%. Overall, Bullard said he thinks there is still a “reasonable chance” a soft landing of the US economy will be achieved. A soft landing is when the economy slows to its trend growth rate without collapsing. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told Congress earlier today the Fed is “closely watching” the emergence of the infectious disease, now known as COVID-19, in China that has infected some 43K & claimed more than 1K lives.
Fed’s Bullard says global trade policy uncertainty has abated
Gold futures ended lower for the first time in 5 sessions as global equity markets punched higher, with the moves being attributed to an apparent slowdown in the spread of the coronavirus. More than 43K cases of the Wuhan virus have been confirmed, with more than 1K deaths, according to the World Health Organization. Against that backdrop, the Dow & S&P 500 were trading as gold futures settled, dulling haven demand for the precious metal. The 10-year benchmark Treasury note yield was also up at 1.589%. Bond prices fall as yields climb. Meanwhile, Apr gold fell $9.40 (0.6%) to settle at $1570 an ounce, putting an end to a 4-session win streak that yesterday sent prices to the highest settlement in a week. The moves in metals came as Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell in prepared remarks said the central bank is monitoring the fast-moving disease. “We are closely monitoring the emergence of the coronavirus, which could lead to disruptions in China that spill over to the rest of the global economy,” he wrote. The remarks are part of a 2-day, semiannual congressional hearing on monetary policy with the House Financial Services Committee.
Gold ends lower after a 4-session climb as rate of coronavirus spread ebbs
Spring hiring has sprung in the home improvement space. Home Depot (HD), a Dow stock, is hiring 80K workers this spring ahead of its busiest time of year. The home improvement retailer will be taking applications for full-time & part-time positions in its garden center, overnight freight department & merchandising & in other customer service roles across store departments in addition to warehouse associates for its distribution centers over the next several months. While the job market has shown steady growth, hourly wages for Americans rose just 7¢ to $28.44 last month following a 3.1% increase in the last year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics' jobs report. The market gained 225K jobs with unemployment at a 50-year-low of 3.6%. HD had sales of $108.2B & earnings of $11.1B in fiscal 2018. The company employs more than 400K & said it would provide job training programs & resources such as e-learning & on-the-job coaching. The stock was up 1.03.
If you would like to learn more about HD, click on this link:
Home Depot hiring 80,000 workers for busy spring season
Oil futures settled with a gain to recoup some of the losses seen a day earlier when they posted their lowest settlement in more than a year. Analysts tied gains to a slowdown in the number of new cases in China of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus that emerged in the country late last year. Worries remain, however, over how the outbreak will affect crude demand, amplified by uncertainty over whether OPEC & its allies will agree to an additional output cut in response to the viral outbreak. West Texas Intermediate crude for Mar delivery rose 37¢ (0.8%) to settle at $49.94 a barrel, while Apr Brent crude tacked on 74¢ (1.4%) to $54.01 a barrel. Oil has tumbled sharply in 2020, slipping into a bear market last week, on rising concerns over the COVID-19 outbreak. Prices for both benchmarks settled yesterday at their lowest in over a year. China's National Health Commission said in its daily update that 108 deaths were reported in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total over 1K deaths in mainland China since the disease emerged in Dec. The number of new, confirmed cases fell to 2.5K from 3.1K a day earlier, bringing the total to 43K on the mainland, including some of whom have since recovered & been released from treatment. Traders were also looking for signs as to whether Russia will go along with an OPEC+ recommendation to curb oil output by an additional 600K barrels a day. Russia's hesitation in endorsing the proposal was blamed in part for pressure on crude prices yesterday. Prices for US benchmark WTI crude futures pared some of their earlier gains after a monthly short-term energy outlook report from the Energy Information Administration (EIA) released today revealed lower 2020 forecasts for WTI & Brent crude oil prices. The EIA also reduced its expectations for US crude-oil production.
Oil ends higher as investors see slowdown in new coronavirus cases
The sellers came in during the PM & dragged down the market. Stocks have had an excellent run in Feb (shown below) & profit taking was in order. Additionally, doubts remain about the ability of the Chinese authorities to get the coronavirus under control. Meanwhile macro economic data for the US continues to be fairly good which is why the bulls are still in command of the stock market. They have been able to keep bidding stocks prices higher & may be able to take the Dow over 30K in the near future.
Dow Jones Industrials
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