Economic update for the week ending April 27, 2019
NASDAQ and S&P 500 closed the week at all time record highs -Strong corporate earnings, lower interest rates, and an easing of trade tensions encouraged investors who pushed stocks to record highs. A strong first quarter GDP report released Friday showed that the economy grew 3.2% in the first quarter of 2019, its best first quarter showing in six years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 26,543.33, down 0.1% from 26,559.54 last week. It’s up 13.8% year to date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,938.88, up 1.2% from 2,905.03 last week. It is up 17.3% year to date. The NASDAQ closed the week at 8,146.40, up 1.9% from 7,998.06 last week. The NASDAQ is up 22.8% year to date. Treasury Bond Yields lower this week - The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 2.51%, down from 2.57% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 2.92%, down from 2.96% last week. We watch treasury bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yield yields. Mortgage rates almost unchanged this week - The April 25, 2019 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate average was 4.20%, up slightly from 4.17% last week. The 15-year fixed was 3.64%, up slightlyfrom 3.62% last week. The 5-year ARM was 3.77%, almost unchanged from 3.78% last week. March U.S. existing home sales report - The National Association of Realtors reported that the total number of existing home sales dropped 5.4% year over year from the number of sales last March. The median sales price increased 3.8% year over year. Inventory levels were up 2.4% from the number of homes for sale last March. The unsold inventory level represented a 3.9 month supply of homes for sale, up from a 3.6 month supply one year ago. Author, Syd Leibovitch
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Economic update for the week ending April 20, 2019
Stock markets hover near all time highs - In a holiday shortened week stocks closed almost unchanged. About 1/3 of companies have reported first quarter earnings so far. Most of those companies had a strong first quarter. China’s economic numbers have come in stronger than expected. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 26,559.54, up 0.6% from 26,412.30 last week. It’s up 13.9% year to date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,905.03, down 0.1% from 2,907.41 last week. It is up 15.9% year to date. The NASDAQ closed the week at 7,998.06, up 0.2% from 7,984.16 last week. The NASDAQ is up 20.5% year to date. Treasury Bond Yields unchanged this week - The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 2.57%, almost unchanged from 2.56% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 2.96%, also almost unchanged from 2.97% last week. We watch treasury bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yield yields. Mortgage rates higher this week - The April 18, 2019 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate average was 4.17%, up slightly from 4.12% last week. The 15-year fixed was 3.62%, almost unchanged from 3.60% last week. The 5-year ARM was 3.78%, down slightly from 3.80% last week. March existing sales and price report- The California Association of Realtors reported that total existing home sales totaled 397,200 on a seasonally adjusted annualized basis in March. That was down 6.3% from the number of sales last March. The median price paid for a home in California in March was $565,880, up 0.2% from March 2018. There was a 3.6 month supply of homes for sale, up from a 2.9 month supply one year ago. On a regional basis: Los Angeles saw a 13% year over year declinein the number of sales, and a 0.2% decline in the median sales price from last March. Orange County saw a 12.5% drop in the number of sales and a median price decline of 1.8% from last March. The number of homes sold in Ventura County decreased 15.4% from last March, and the median price declined 0.2% from March 2018. Author, Syd Leibovitch Economic update for the week ending April 13, 2019
Stock markets slightly higher this week - Stocks recorded solid gains on Friday to erase losses earlier in the week. Markets ended the week just slightly higher. Investors are waiting for companies to report first quarter corporate profits. Financial stocks led the market following a solid quarterly earnings report from JPMorgan Chase. The week also marked the 10 year anniversary of the S&P 500 bull market. It’s just 1% below it’s all time high set September 20, 2108. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 26,412.30, almost unchanged from 26,424.99 last week. It’s up 13.3% year to date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,907.41, up 0.5% from 2,892.74 last week. It is up 16% year to date. The NASDAQ closed the week at 7,984.16, up 0.6% from 7,938.69 last week. The NASDAQ is up 20.3% year to date. Treasury Bond Yields higher for the second straight week - The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 2.56%, up from 2.50% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 2.97%, up from 2.91% last week. We watch treasury bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yield yields. Mortgage rates higher this week - The April 11, 2019 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate average was 4.12%, up from 4.08% last week. The 15-year fixed was 3.60%, up slightly from 3.56% last week. The 5-year ARM was 3.80, up from 3.66% last week. Home sales data is usually released by The California Association of Realtors and The National Association of Realtors around the 20th of the month. Hopefully, they will be released in time for next weeks update. Author, Syd Leibovitch Economic update for the week ending April 4, 2019
Employers add 196,000 new jobs in March - The Department of Labor Statistics reported that U.S. employers added 196,000 new jobs in March. This exceeded analysts expectations of 175,000 new jobs. The unemployment rate held at 3.8%, a 50 year low. Average hourly wages grew 3.2% from last March. Stocks continue to rise - 2019 has begun with a booming stock market. Markets are already up 13% to 17% year to date. The U.S. economy which appeared to be losing steam just a few months ago is taking off again. Overseas economies which seemed to be slowing are also rebounding. The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed the week at 26,424.99, up 1.9% from 25,928.68 last week. It’s up 13.3% year to date. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,892.74, up 2.1% from 2,834.40 last week. It is up 15.4% year to date. The NASDAQ closed the week at 7,938.69, up 2.7% from 7,729.32 last week. The NASDAQ is up 16.9% year to date. Treasury Bond Yields higher after dropping for 14 weeks - The 10-year treasury bond closed the week yielding 2.50%, up from 2.41% last week. The 30-year treasury bond yield ended the week at 2.91%, up from 2.81% last week. We watch treasury bond yields because mortgage rates follow bond yield yields. 30-year Mortgage rates remain at lowest levels since 2017 - The April 4, 2019 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that the 30-year fixed mortgage rate average was 4.08%, almost unchanged from 4.06% last week. The 15-year fixed was 3.56%, unchanged from 3.57% last week. The 5-year ARM was 3.66%, down from 3.75% last week. Author, Syd Leibovitch |
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