Ahead of today’s trading session, stock futures are suggesting a sharply lower open for U.S. equities. In overnight trading, markets in Asia ended their day mixed. Meanwhile, the major European indexes are all down around 1%. Elsewhere, oil prices are also in the red, with West Texas Intermediate down 1.1%, to around $81.60 a barrel.
Semiconductor stocks and other tech issues led the way higher Monday, but the focus will now turn to consumer spending. This morning, the Census Bureau reported the retail sales data for last month. The increase for July came in at 0.7%, up from a revised 0.3% the month before, and higher than the consensus forecast of 0.4%. On a year-over-year basis, sales were up 3.2%, versus 1.49% in June, and expectations of 1.5%. These figures could raise concerns of an overheated economy once more. Investors will also receive additional data points on the state of the consumer this week, with second-quarter earnings releases due from such retailers as Home Depot (HD), Target (TGT), and Walmart (WMT).
Looking at the rest of the economic calendar for this week, the National Association of Home Builders will announce its Housing Market Index (HMI) for August this morning. The HMI, which measures the relative level of current and future single-family home sales is forecast to come around 56, on par with last month. (Readings above 50 suggest a positive outlook for home sales, while those below 50 indicate unfavorable prospects.) Tomorrow brings more information on the state of the housing sector, with the Census Bureau’s report on building permits, a forward looking indicator. Wall Street estimates are looking for that figure to come in around 1.46 million, up from 1.441 million for July. We’ll also get the latest reading on housing starts, which are widely estimated to show a small uptick, to 1.44 million, up from the 1.43 million recorded last month.
Summing up Monday’s market moves, the Dow Jones Industrials Average gained 26 points, or 0.1%, the S&P 500 advanced 25 points (0.6%), and the tech-focused NASDAQ topped the list, moving up 143 points higher (1.1%). – 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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