Dow was off 62, advancers over decliners 4-3 & NAZ rose 29. The MLP index was even at 128 & the REIT index advanced 5+ to 347 (but pretty much sideways in the last 2 months). Junk bond funds crawled higher & Treasuries continued to be weak today. Oil was slightly lower, but hanging in above 40, & gold rose 11 to 1911 (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)
US homebuilding increased by the most in nearly 4 years in Jun amid reports of rising demand for housing in suburbs & rural areas as companies allow employees flexibility to work from home because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Housing starts increased 17.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.186M units last month, the Commerce Dept reported. The percentage increase was the largest since 2016. Data for May was revised up to a 1.011M-unit pace from the previously reported 974K. The forecast called for starts increasing to a rate of 1.169M units. Permits for future homebuilding rose 2.1% to a rate of 1.24M units last month. Single-family building permits increased 11.8% to a rate of 834K units last month. But permits for multi-family units dropped 13.4% to a rate of 407K units. A survey today showed confidence among single-family homebuilders vaulting in Jul back to levels that prevailed before the coronavirus crisis upended the economy in Mar. Builders reported increased demand for single-family homes in lower density markets, including small metro areas, rural markets & large metro suburbs. The public health crisis has shifted office work from commercial business districts to homes, a trend that economists predict could become permanent. Demand for housing is being supported by cheaper mortgage rates. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate is at an average of 2.98%, the lowest since 1971, according to data from mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac. But with a staggering 32M Americans collecting unemployment checks & lumber prices at a 2-year high, a robust housing market is unlikely. Single-family homebuilding, which accounts for the largest share of the housing market, powered ahead 17.2% to a rate of 831K units in Jun. Homebuilding increased in the Midwest, the populous South & Northeast, but fell in the West. Starts for the volatile multi-family housing segment jumped 17.5% to a pace of 355K units.
White House health advisory Dr Anthony Fauci said that the coronavirus has hit the US “very severely” & the country “needs to get better control over things” to reopen the economy & head toward normalcy. “The United States of America has been hit very severely by this. You just need to look at the numbers and see the number of infections in the millions and the number of deaths ... keeps going up each day. We’re still seeing an increase in hospitalizations.” Fauci told the Chamber of Commerce Foundation. “We need to get better control over things. We need to open up the country because staying shut down has economic, employment, health and other negative consequences that are significant,” he added. The US reported an additioinal 77K Covid-19 cases yesterday, a record-breaking daily increase that shattered its previous high by nearly 10K cases, according to Johns Hopkins University. 44 states & DC reported that the 7-day average of daily new cases rose by more than 5% yesterday from a week earlier. Some states have reported climbing cases for weeks, predominantly in the American West & South. California, Florida & Texas accounted for more than ½ of all new US cases yesterday. Hospitalizations also appear to be growing in at least 32 states, based on a 7-day average. “When you have more hospitalizations inevitably you’re going to see more deaths because if people are serious enough to get hospitalized a certain percentage of them are going to be very sick and a certain percentage of them are going to die, and that’s exactly what you’re seeing in certain areas,” Fauci said.
Fauci says U.S. needs to ‘get better control’ of the coronavirus to reopen without outbreaks
Gold futures registered a 6th weekly gain in a row, buoyed by a combination of rising expectations for additional fiscal stimulus in Europe & the US as well as uncertainty over the global economic outlook as the COVID-19 cases continue to rise. Gold for Aug rose $9 (0.5%) to settle at $1810 an ounce. Gold logged a nearly 0.5% weekly rise & was up 18.8% YTD after hitting its highest level since 2011 earlier this month & moving within striking distance of its all-time high. The White House & lawmakers face increasing pressure to come up with an additional fiscal stimulus plan ahead of the expiration of supplemental unemployment benefits at the end of the month. Meanwhile, EU leaders on Friday kicked off a 2-day summit aimed at reaching an agreement on a €750B recovery fund.
Gold, silver futures settle higher to tally a sixth weekly gain in a row
Oil futures ended lower, not far from where they settled at a week ago, as the number of COVID-19 cases continued to rise in the US & around the world, adding to uncertainty over the outlook for crude demand. The US counted more than 70K coronavirus cases yesterday to set a new record for the most in a single day, while the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 edged closer to 14M & regions resumed restrictions on movement in a battle to contain the spread. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for Aug fell by 16¢ (0.4%) to settle at $40.59 a barrel. Sep Brent crude, the global benchmark, declined 23¢ (0.5%) at $43.14 a barrel. For the week, WTI crude went up 4¢ a barrel, while Brent declined 0.2%, or by a dime. US crude supplies fell by 7.5M barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration reported, helping to lift WTI & Brent prices for that session to their highest settlements in more than 4 months. Baker Hughes reported that the number of active US rigs drilling for oil edged down by 1 to 180 this week. That number has now fallen for 18 weeks in a row, suggesting upcoming production declines.
Oil settles lower, posting modest change for week as rise in coronavirus cases stokes demand worries
Not much happening in the stock market today. The Dow was in the red with a small loss for most of the day, although there were more advancers than decliners. Buyers were active in tech stocks late in the day, which kept the NAZ near its record high last week. There is a lot of talk about more stimulus money to boost the lagging economy. But so far that is all talk. Next week, those guys in DC may get more serious. Or maybe not.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
US homebuilding increased by the most in nearly 4 years in Jun amid reports of rising demand for housing in suburbs & rural areas as companies allow employees flexibility to work from home because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Housing starts increased 17.3% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.186M units last month, the Commerce Dept reported. The percentage increase was the largest since 2016. Data for May was revised up to a 1.011M-unit pace from the previously reported 974K. The forecast called for starts increasing to a rate of 1.169M units. Permits for future homebuilding rose 2.1% to a rate of 1.24M units last month. Single-family building permits increased 11.8% to a rate of 834K units last month. But permits for multi-family units dropped 13.4% to a rate of 407K units. A survey today showed confidence among single-family homebuilders vaulting in Jul back to levels that prevailed before the coronavirus crisis upended the economy in Mar. Builders reported increased demand for single-family homes in lower density markets, including small metro areas, rural markets & large metro suburbs. The public health crisis has shifted office work from commercial business districts to homes, a trend that economists predict could become permanent. Demand for housing is being supported by cheaper mortgage rates. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate is at an average of 2.98%, the lowest since 1971, according to data from mortgage finance agency Freddie Mac. But with a staggering 32M Americans collecting unemployment checks & lumber prices at a 2-year high, a robust housing market is unlikely. Single-family homebuilding, which accounts for the largest share of the housing market, powered ahead 17.2% to a rate of 831K units in Jun. Homebuilding increased in the Midwest, the populous South & Northeast, but fell in the West. Starts for the volatile multi-family housing segment jumped 17.5% to a pace of 355K units.
U.S. homebuilding surges as coronavirus sparks flight from crowded cities
White House health advisory Dr Anthony Fauci said that the coronavirus has hit the US “very severely” & the country “needs to get better control over things” to reopen the economy & head toward normalcy. “The United States of America has been hit very severely by this. You just need to look at the numbers and see the number of infections in the millions and the number of deaths ... keeps going up each day. We’re still seeing an increase in hospitalizations.” Fauci told the Chamber of Commerce Foundation. “We need to get better control over things. We need to open up the country because staying shut down has economic, employment, health and other negative consequences that are significant,” he added. The US reported an additioinal 77K Covid-19 cases yesterday, a record-breaking daily increase that shattered its previous high by nearly 10K cases, according to Johns Hopkins University. 44 states & DC reported that the 7-day average of daily new cases rose by more than 5% yesterday from a week earlier. Some states have reported climbing cases for weeks, predominantly in the American West & South. California, Florida & Texas accounted for more than ½ of all new US cases yesterday. Hospitalizations also appear to be growing in at least 32 states, based on a 7-day average. “When you have more hospitalizations inevitably you’re going to see more deaths because if people are serious enough to get hospitalized a certain percentage of them are going to be very sick and a certain percentage of them are going to die, and that’s exactly what you’re seeing in certain areas,” Fauci said.
Fauci says U.S. needs to ‘get better control’ of the coronavirus to reopen without outbreaks
Gold futures registered a 6th weekly gain in a row, buoyed by a combination of rising expectations for additional fiscal stimulus in Europe & the US as well as uncertainty over the global economic outlook as the COVID-19 cases continue to rise. Gold for Aug rose $9 (0.5%) to settle at $1810 an ounce. Gold logged a nearly 0.5% weekly rise & was up 18.8% YTD after hitting its highest level since 2011 earlier this month & moving within striking distance of its all-time high. The White House & lawmakers face increasing pressure to come up with an additional fiscal stimulus plan ahead of the expiration of supplemental unemployment benefits at the end of the month. Meanwhile, EU leaders on Friday kicked off a 2-day summit aimed at reaching an agreement on a €750B recovery fund.
Gold, silver futures settle higher to tally a sixth weekly gain in a row
Oil futures ended lower, not far from where they settled at a week ago, as the number of COVID-19 cases continued to rise in the US & around the world, adding to uncertainty over the outlook for crude demand. The US counted more than 70K coronavirus cases yesterday to set a new record for the most in a single day, while the number of confirmed cases of COVID-19 edged closer to 14M & regions resumed restrictions on movement in a battle to contain the spread. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude for Aug fell by 16¢ (0.4%) to settle at $40.59 a barrel. Sep Brent crude, the global benchmark, declined 23¢ (0.5%) at $43.14 a barrel. For the week, WTI crude went up 4¢ a barrel, while Brent declined 0.2%, or by a dime. US crude supplies fell by 7.5M barrels last week, the Energy Information Administration reported, helping to lift WTI & Brent prices for that session to their highest settlements in more than 4 months. Baker Hughes reported that the number of active US rigs drilling for oil edged down by 1 to 180 this week. That number has now fallen for 18 weeks in a row, suggesting upcoming production declines.
Oil settles lower, posting modest change for week as rise in coronavirus cases stokes demand worries
Not much happening in the stock market today. The Dow was in the red with a small loss for most of the day, although there were more advancers than decliners. Buyers were active in tech stocks late in the day, which kept the NAZ near its record high last week. There is a lot of talk about more stimulus money to boost the lagging economy. But so far that is all talk. Next week, those guys in DC may get more serious. Or maybe not.
Dow Jones Industrials
1 comment:
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