Succinct Summation of events for the week ending February 23rd, 2018
Positives:
1. Stocks rose for a 2nd straight week. S&P 500 has recovered 8% from its 2018 lows.
2. Index of Leading Economic Indicators rose 1% m/o/m, above the 0.6% expected rise.
3. Initial jobless claims fell to 222K, down 230k previously. The 4-week average fell from 228.5k to 226K
4. Same store sales were up 3.7% y/o/y, above the 2.8% expected increase.
5. PMI Composite Index rose to 55.9 from 53.8, a 27-week high.
Negatives:
1. Treasury Yields are near decade highs, just as the US supply is going to become abundant in 2018.
2. Home resales were down 4.8 percent y/o/y, the largest decline since August 2014. Existing home sales fell 3.2% m/o/m.
3. Mortgage applications fell 6% w/o/w as interest rates continue to rise.
4. Bloomberg consumer comfort index fell from 57 to 56.6.
Thanks, Matt!
