Friday, February 27, 2009
Up and Down
Disappointing economic news kept the bears in control Thursday. The Dow closed the session with a loss of 88.81 points to a level of 7,182.08. The SPX fell 12.07 points to end at 752.83.
A number of disappointing economic reports and the release of President Obama's budget left traders in a selling mood.
Much like existing home sales in January, new home sales fell more than expected. New home sales declined 10.2 percent during the month to 309,000 from 331,000 in December. Oversupply has pushed home prices lower as well with the median price for a new home fell 9.9 percent to $201,000, putting the year on year rate down 13.5 percent.
In other economic news, jobless claims soared this past week, up 36,000 claims to 639,000. This is the highest jobless claims level in more than 25 years. Continuing claims moved to a new record high above 5 million, rising 114,000 to 5.112 million. This data just confirms the view that the jobs market is in a deep recession and that the unemployment rate is likely to continue its advance in the months to come.
Durable goods orders also disappointed today with January orders down 5.2 percent. This was more than double the decline expected and marks the sixth straight month of declines. During the past year, durable goods orders are down 23.3 percent, an increase from December's 22.9 percent decline. Friday will be another heavy day for economic news with reports on GDP, NAPM-Chicago and Consumer Sentiment on tap.
We will be looking for plays after today.
Until next time.
A number of disappointing economic reports and the release of President Obama's budget left traders in a selling mood.
Much like existing home sales in January, new home sales fell more than expected. New home sales declined 10.2 percent during the month to 309,000 from 331,000 in December. Oversupply has pushed home prices lower as well with the median price for a new home fell 9.9 percent to $201,000, putting the year on year rate down 13.5 percent.
In other economic news, jobless claims soared this past week, up 36,000 claims to 639,000. This is the highest jobless claims level in more than 25 years. Continuing claims moved to a new record high above 5 million, rising 114,000 to 5.112 million. This data just confirms the view that the jobs market is in a deep recession and that the unemployment rate is likely to continue its advance in the months to come.
Durable goods orders also disappointed today with January orders down 5.2 percent. This was more than double the decline expected and marks the sixth straight month of declines. During the past year, durable goods orders are down 23.3 percent, an increase from December's 22.9 percent decline. Friday will be another heavy day for economic news with reports on GDP, NAPM-Chicago and Consumer Sentiment on tap.
We will be looking for plays after today.
Until next time.
# posted by Paul @ 6:30 AM 
