Market Recap: Jobs, Housing Data Breath Some Life Into Stocks
- Posted on February 16, 2012 at 4:22pm by
Becket Adams
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Markets closed up on Wall Street today:
▲ Dow +0.96 percent
▲ S&P +1.10 percent
▲ Nasdaq +1.51 percent
▲ Oil +0.49 percent
▲ Gold +0.10 percent
On the commodities front:
▲ Oil (NYSE:USO) rose to $102.30 a barrel
▲ Gold (NYSE:GLD) rising to $1,729.80 an ounce
▲ Silver (NYSE:SLV) rose 0.26 percent to settle at $33.50
(Related: January Core Producer Price Index Up Significantly)
Today’s markets were up because:
1) Jobs: The U.S. Department of Labor reported today that initial claims for unemployment benefits “unexpectedly” fell last week to the lowest level in nearly four years, marking the most substantial evidence of an improving labor market since the national unemployment rate reportedly dropped to 8.3 percent in January.
Regardless of the veracity of this news, it had a positive effect on the markets.
2) Housing: An unusually mild January helped builders beat forecasts for housing starts, which were up 1.5 percent from December to an annual rate of 699,000, the Commerce Department reported today. Meanwhile, applications for building permits, the best indicator of housing starts in the next two or three months, increased to a 676,000 annual rate.
3) Moody’s: Investors are paying little heed to ratings agencies these days, as financial stocks led today’s rally despite Moody’s putting Credit Suisse, UBS, Morgan Stanley, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Bank of America, and Deutsche Bank on watch for possible downgrades, to name a few. All of the stocks were trading between 1 percent and 4 percent higher today, largely outperforming the major U.S. indexes.
[Editors’ note: portions of the above are from a cross post that originally appeared on Wall St. Cheat Sheet.]
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LIBS-ARE-DINGLEHEADS
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 4:10amVolume….DOWN. Translation: No one of substance is BUYING into this “rally:.
Report Post »TemayElbor
Posted on February 17, 2012 at 3:19amThat “breath” will be snapped out soon due to rising gas prices. Yesterday, (February 16, 2012) gas price in my area (Chevron) was already $4.09 per gallon. It was $3.99 the day before.
It seems like AMERICA is drowning in this economic mess, and for awhile was able to take a little breath but then “something” pushed her into the water again.
Report Post »The Eradicator
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 9:18pmSo, everything is better now?…Unemployment is going down, stock is up, Obama is back in the White House in 2012…All is good.
*puts on good time dancing shoes*
Yay!!! the world’s problems are now over! US businesses are hiring at an alarming rate! Yay!
Report Post »Abraham Young
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 7:11pmHow can prices help but rise during an inflationary bubble?
Watch what the left hand is doing.
Report Post »JP4JOY
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 7:05pmAnyone wonder where the $400 billion from the first tarp went. Ole Ben still has that checking account and has been selectively buying and selling to “massage” the markets. NOONE is keeping tabs on this vast sum of money. The numbers put out by this administration are always changed after we get the good news and none of their projections are corroborated by the CBO or any outside agency. We are being sold a bill of goods. It’s like in the old days when unscrupulous dudes would sell “salted” mines. A little bit of gold glitter went a long way. Same sham new dudes.
Report Post »Lion420
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 6:18pmIt never ceases to amaze me just how powerful democrat lies can be.
Report Post »REPUB1
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 6:05pmkinda seems like the Anti-christ is comming to a city near you. it is only a well planned out SNOW job for the Traitor-In-Chief to become King of the world… come Nov.
Report Post »Eric_The_Red_State
Posted on February 16, 2012 at 6:00pmIsn’t it AMAZING that right before the election .. things are getting better!!
Who could have predicted this?
I bet the price of gas goes down —
Unemployment goes down —
Housing prices go up —-
The dollar is strong again —-
Illegal immigrants are at an all time low —
We are safer —
We are more happy —
We are just FINE and DANDY!!!
Right before the election….
Amazing.
And the queen of England is coming over to my house to play pokemon with my cat. While my girlfriend,… uh… Morgan Fairchild…. will be giving me a backrub right before we fly to Paris for lunch … just because….. :)
Happy Happy Happy.
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