Succinct Summations for the week ending May 19th, 2017.
Positives:
1. The index of leading indicators rose 0.3%.
2. Initial jobless claims fell to 232k, the 4-week moving average fell to 240.75k.
3. Industrial production rose 1% m/o/m, above the 0.4% expected increase.
4. Manufacturing also rose 1% in April, well above the 0.3% expected rise.
5. Bloomberg consumer comfort index rose from 49.7 to 50.2.
6. Housing market index came in at 70, above the 68 expected and up from 68 previously.
Negatives:
1. Stocks had a rough day on Wednesday, falling >1%. Remarkably though, just the second 1% decline YTD.
2. Housing starts fell from 1.215M to 1.172M (annualized), a 2.6% drop.
3. MBA mortgage applications composite index fell 4.1%.
4. Permits for single family homes fell 4.5%.
Thanks, Mike!
