Stocks began the week on solid footing, as investors appeared to be increasingly optimistic that tariffs proposed by President Trump won’t be as broad as initially feared. While President Trump plans to target several sectors with new levies, he noted that one would soon be announced on automobiles. Others include pharmaceuticals, lumber, and semiconductors, though no specific dates were provided.
In overnight trading, markets in Asia mostly closed up. Meanwhile, the European markets were firmly in the plus column this morning. On our shores, U.S. stock futures for the major indexes were indicating a positive start to the day.
Turning to the economic calendar for this week, this morning we will get the latest figures on the housing market. The Census Bureau is due to release its report on New Home Sales for February. The Wall Street consensus is calling for 682,000 units, up from 657,000 the month before.
Tomorrow, the Bureau will announce durable goods orders for February. Analyst forecasts are calling for a month-to-month dip of 0.6%, versus an increase of 3.1% in January. Meanwhile, the ‘core’ figure, which excludes transportation items, is expected to show an uptick of 0.4%, versus a flat reading in January.
On Thursday, we’ll get the Department of Labor’s release on initial jobless claims, with predictions calling for a tally of around 225,000, versus 223,000 the week before. We’ll also hear from the National Association of Realtors, as it is due to report on pending home sales for last month. Predictions there are suggesting a month-over-month increase of 1.0%, versus the 4.6% decline in January.
Friday then brings the latest news on the inflation front. Analyst estimates are suggesting that the Department of Commerce’s Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) price index for February will show a month-to-month increase of 0.3%, which would match the January showing. Meanwhile, the core figure (which excludes food and energy prices) is also expected to be up 0.3%, which would equal the prior month’s advance.
Summing up Monday’s price moves for the major indexes, the Dow Jones Industrials was up 597 points, or 1.4%, the S&P 500 advanced 100 points (1.8%), and the tech-laden NASDAQ gained 404 points (2.3%). – Mario Ferro
At the time of this article’s writing, the author did not have positions in any of the companies mentioned.
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