Stocks Trade In Tightest Weekly Range In 21 Years
Double Dividend Stocks | Jun 07, 2015 01:34AM ET
Markets: 3 out of 4 indexes fell this week, but the Russell small caps actually had an up week. Stocks traded in their tightest weekly range in 21 years, due to mixed economic data. Friday’s strong Non-Farm Payrolls Report stirred investor fears about a Fed rate hike coming in September, rather than December, as many market analysts have predicted.
Market Breadth: 6 DOW stocks rose this week, vs. 5 last week. 38% of S&P 500 stocks rose this week, vs. 21% last week.
Currency: It was a mixed week for the US dollar, which fell vs. the euro, loonie, and Swiss franc, while rising vs. the Aussie, New Zealand dollar, and yen.
US Economic News: May Non-Farm Payrolls surprised to the upside, and April and March’s figure was revised upwards by 32,000. The 6-month average is now 236,000 jobs/month. Job gains occurred in professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and healthcare. Mining employment continued to decline. The Unemployment Report inched up to 5.5%, due to a rise in the labor force. Wages rose by 2.3%, the best since 2009. Auto and truck sales also surprised to the upside, and are on the best pace since 2005.
Private sector wages and salaries were up 4.6% year-over-year.
Week Ahead Highlights: It will be a light data week, but the Greek drama may curb investors risk appetites – On Friday, Greece’s Prime Minister called the bailout proposals “absurd,” and Greece decided not to make a payment due to the IMF. Investors’ neutral sentiment has hit a record – Reuters reports that,
Get The News You Want
Read market moving news with a personalized feed of stocks you care about.Get The App“Investors polled by the American Association of Individual Investors have increasingly said they are “neutral” on the market, suggesting uncertainty about where stocks are going.”
“The most recent AAII survey showed 48 percent of investors polled have neutral outlooks for the market for the next six months, while 27 percent are bullish and 25 percent are negative. The bullish figure has been below 30 percent for five weeks, the longest since 2003, while the neutral figure has exceeded 45 percent for nine weeks, longest in the 28-year history of the survey.”
In 2 weeks, a highly anticipated Fed meeting may well determine the fate of the market’s direction for the coming months…stay tuned.
Next Week’s US Economic Reports:
Sectors and Commodities:
Thanks to interest rate hike fears, Financials led this week, and Utilities trailed. Rising rates will add more profitability to Banks’ margins, but it will squeeze firms with heavy debt, such as Utilities.
Oats led this week, while heating oil lagged.
Original Post
Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.