Nightly Report
Nightly technical market analysis by Jerome "Mel" Hickerson featuring the day's technical summary and a look ahead at the next session.
A Wild One
Prior to the open, the Labor Department reported that initial claims for unemployment insurance for the week ending July 24th fell by 11,000 to 457K. The week’s total was 2K below the Reuters consensus for a reading of 459K. Continuing Claims for unemployment for the week ending July 17 were above consensus at 4.565M vs. expectations for 4.550M and last week’s 4.484M. Stock futures were pointing to a strong opening.
A Slight Pullback - the Beginning of More?
Before the open we got the news that orders for durable goods fell in June. The Commerce Department reported that Durable Goods orders declined -1.0% during the month, which was well below the consensus expectations for an increase of +1.0%. When you strip out the volatile orders for transportation, orders also fell by -0.6%, which was below the consensus for +0.5%. Stock futures moved a little lower after the report.
A Breather or a Turning Point?
Stock futures were pointing higher before the open on the back of a turnaround in Europe and continuation of the earnings parade. We didn't have any economic data to review before the bell, but we received both the Consumer Confidence and Richmond Fed Manufacturing Indices at 10am. The session began with a four point gap upward, put the high of the day on the chart just nine minutes in, and then proceeded to sell with a very brief pump right at 10am.
Another One for the Bulls
Early morning futures were pointing to modest weakness at the open as the enthusiasm from the European bank stress tests appeared to be waning just before the open. The Chicago Fed reported that their National Activity Index came in at -0.62 in June, which was below the revised May reading of +0.31 (April’s reading was +0.25).
SPX Surmounts and Closes Week Above 1100
We didn't have any economic news before Friday’s open but earnings continued to provide plenty of input and the economic data from the UK and Germany was pretty good. But all eyes were on those stress tests results Friday at noon. Futures were off their highs and declining but still pointing to a higher open. The session began with a small two point gap down.
