TBD.
Robert R. Fragnito
Chief Operating Officer | Financial Advisor | Portfolio Manager at MCF Capital Management, LLC
U.S. stocks landed in positive territory on Thursday as Treasury yields retreated ahead of key inflation data and a town hall meeting with Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. ???
Stocks fared better this session after a mixed day on Wednesday as Treasury yields and crude oil futures were coming off their fresh highs, while tech shares moved higher.
In the bond market, U.S. Treasury yields pulled back after the 10-year yield hit a 16-year high above 4.650% earlier in the day, the closely watched yield ended lower at 4.597%. Yields started falling later in afternoon trade after the 7-year auction of Treasury notes produced a high yield of 4.673%, the highest yield for the series since it was first introduced in 2009.
In the energy complex, WTI crude oil futures rose to $95 a barrel early Thursday but started scaling back later in the day to settle down 2.1% to $91.71/bbl on NYMEX. The U.S. benchmark rallied to near 13-month highs following Wednesday’s inventory data which revealed crude stocks at the Cushing, Oklahoma hub fell to operational minimums and multiyear lows.??
The global benchmark Brent crude hit a session high of $97.69 but settled lower at $95.38 a barrel, down 1.2% on ICE Futures Europe. Meanwhile, natural gas prices rose to $2.945/mmBtu, up 1.6% as the EIA reported Thursday that natural gas in storage rose by 90 billion cubic feet last week.
On the economic data front, weekly initial jobless claims rose to 204,000 last week from 202,000 but came well below forecasts of 215,000. Elsewhere, pending home sales declined 7.1% month-over-month in August from a 0.5% rise the month prior.? ?
Revised GDP data also showed that the U.S. economy grew at an annualized pace of 2.1% in the second quarter. The revised figures revealed that consumers were weaker than initially reported and that third quarter GDP is expected to rise 4% or more.
In other markets, gold futures fell 0.64% to settle at $1,860.64/oz on COMEX and the U.S. dollar retreated after mounting a rally in the past few sessions.?
Looking Ahead
Stocks forged ahead on Thursday but whether their advance will be sustained moving forward is still in question. Downward pressures on equity markets were somewhat alleviated with downward reversals in Treasury yields and energy prices, whose rise has offered significant discomfort for investors.
By the time we submit this report, Fed Chair Powell’s town hall will be well underway—we look forward to reporting on it tomorrow. In addition, key inflation data from the U.S. and eurozone are expected on Friday. Investors will parse through the results of the PCE Price Index, the Fed’s favorite inflation gauge.
What We’re Monitoring: (1) U.S. Treasury Yields, (2) Crude Oil Prices, (3) Developments on the U.S. Government Shutdown Debate, (4) Autoworkers Strike, (5) Student Loan Repayments, (6) Developments surrounding the Federal Reserve.
Stay Tuned! ?
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MCF Capital Management, LLC is an independent, family-run, financial advisory firm that manages investment portfolios for individuals and businesses through Quantitative Market Data Analysis.
THIS ARTICLE IS FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES ONLY AND IS NOT INVESTMENT ADVICE.?
???SOURCES:?LSEG Workspace, Dow Jones NewsPlus, MarketWatch, Wall Street Journal, Barron’s, FinancialJuice, Investing .com, CNBC, Wells Fargo Investment Institute, TradingView