US indexes finished marginally higher Wednesday as improved services sector and payroll data lifted investor sentiments but the gains were pared after China’s official non-manufacturing PMI reading for August dropped to the lowest level since March 2011. The Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing index that covers nearly 90 percent of the economy rose to 55.1 in September from 53.7 in …
Stocks Snap Losing Streak After Spain Budget; Europe Rises After Choppy Day
[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com] US stocks bounced back Thursday with the S&P 500 snapping its five-day losing streak after Spain officially released its 2013 budget outlining more spending cuts than tax hikes, a move seen by markets as a key development before the debt stricken country formally seeks ECB intervention. Risk sentiment was boosted further after last week’s initial jobless …
US Stocks Inch Higher On Housing; Europe Gains On Japanese Stimulus
[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com] US stocks snapped a two-day mini-decline to finish slightly higher Wednesday after existing US home sales came in better than estimated while Japan announced additional monetary stimulus to boost a stagnating economy. The indexes turned lower early on following a Commerce Department report that showed housing starts in August grew at 2.3 percent to an adjusted …
Equity ETFs Step Back As Manufacturing Disappoints; Europe Hits Gridlock
[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com] Equity ETFs took a breather to close lower Monday as last week’s Fed stimulus-driven euphoria faded after a disappointing New York area manufacturing data forced investors to mull over the health of the economy. Maybe some of the realization is sinking in that all is not well as markets have chosen to ignore economic fundamentals by …
Uneven Data Keeps Major Indexes Range Bound; Will QE-3 Happen In September?
[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com] US stocks remained near flat Wednesday while the blue-chip stocks closed slightly lower as investors weighed mixed economic data amid diminished hopes for further monetary expansion measures from the US Fed. The Dow Jones closed lower while the S&P 500 and the NASDAQ Composite managed to hang on to marginal gains even though volumes continue to …
Fed Disappoints—US Stocks End Marginally Lower; ECB And Unemployment Numbers On Deck; USO Rises, URA Sinks
[Chart courtesy of MarketWatch.com] US stocks ended marginally lower Wednesday as the Federal Reserve decided to hold back another round of asset purchases to boost the economy. Traders had priced in a Fed move to support the market’s lofty levels even though eight of ten economists surveyed by Bloomberg News were negative on the Federal Reserve initiating further quantitative easing …