Bartlett Market Week
Market Week: March 01, 2010
The Markets
Stocks struggled to stay afloat during a week of largely disappointing economic data. The small-cap Russell 2000 was the only major index left in positive territory for the year. Doubts about European debt continued to plague international equities. That helped drive increased interest in U.S. Treasury bonds, whose prices rose as yields fell.
Note: Market indexes listed are unmanaged and are not available for direct investment.
Last Week's Headlines
- New home sales plunged 11.2% in January compared to December and were down 6.1% from January 2009. Though revisions and statistical errors can distort the numbers from month to month, it's the third consecutive monthly decline, and the lowest monthly level of new home sales since the Commerce Department began keeping records in 1963. Sales of existing homes also fell 7.2% in January.
- Gross Domestic Product in Q4 2009 actually grew 0.2% more than the original estimate of 5.7%.
- The SEC voted to adopt an alternative uptick rule, which would curb short selling in a stock once it has fallen 10% in intraday trading. The new rule, which will go into effect 60 days after publication in the Federal Register, requires that once that circuit breaker has been tripped, any short sales for the rest of that day and the next must be executed at a price above the current highest national bid. However, the SEC stopped short of reinstating the original rule, which required all short sales to take place on an uptick.
- Home prices in the 20 cities tracked by the S&P/Case-Shiller index fell 0.2% in December, and were down 3.1% from a year earlier.
- After three straight months of increases, the Conference Board's measure of consumer confidence dropped sharply in February, falling from 56.5 to 46.0--its lowest level since last April.
- Orders for civilian aircraft, which more than doubled in January, pushed up the month's durable goods orders by 3%, the biggest increase since July. However, excluding transportation, orders fell 0.6%.
- Bond rating services threatened further downgrades of their ratings for Greek sovereign debt. The financially troubled country is struggling to balance the need for budget cuts with public protests against them.
Eye on the Week Ahead
Bond investors will be watching an auction of 10-year bonds in Greece in light of the threatened rating downgrade. Friday's unemployment numbers are likely to once again be key.
Key data releases: Personal income/spending, manufacturing, construction spending (3/1); pending home sales, productivity (3/4); unemployment/nonfarm payrolls (3/5).
Data source: Includes data provided by Brounes & Associates. All information is based on sources deemed reliable, but no warranty or guarantee is made as to its accuracy or completeness. Neither the information nor any opinion expressed herein constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any securities, and should not be relied on as financial advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.
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