May 2009 - MND NewsWire

The S&P 500 has gained 34% from its nadir in March, and following a 1.5% advance on Thursday futures are poised to extend those gains on Friday. S&P futures are up between 6.7 points in pre-market trading, while Dow futures are 66 points higher and Nasdaq futures up nearly 15 points. Investor confidence has been boosted by gains in overseas news, including improvement in Japan’s industrial production index and crude oil flirting with 6-month highs of $65 per barrel. In addition, data

Markets opened higher Thursday morning following the pre-session release of Durable Goods and Jobless Claims , but indexes began to fall after the 10am release of New Home Sales, which failed to gain as much as predictions. Roughly 90 minutes into the session, the S&P 500 has just begun climbing back with a 0.28% gain to 895, while the Dow is moving upwards but remains down 0.17% to 8286, and the Nasdaq has shed 0.1% to 1729. The day had started positively with a 1.9% advance in Durable Goods

Sales of existing homes rose as expected in April, led by buyers in lower price ranges, according to the National Association of Realtors on Wednesday. Meanwhile, a report from the FHFA indicates prices may be stabilizing. Existing home sales increased 2.9% in April to a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 4.68 million units, up from a downwardly revised pace of 4.55 million units in March. Since April 2008, sales have fallen 3.5% “Most of the sales are taking place in lower price ranges and

Markets opened lower following the Memorial Day weekend on Tuesday, but roughly 90 minutes into the session all three indexes were climbing following an optimistic report on Consumer Confidence from 10 am. The S&P 500 has gained 1.93% to 904, the Dow has similarly climbed 1.89% to 8433, and the Nasdaq has soared 2.67% to 1737. The market gains are taking place despite a grim report from 9 am indicating that, as of March, home prices had fallen more than expected. The 20-city composite measure

As expected, Friday is turning out to be a quiet day ahead of the Memorial Day three-day weekend . Markets have been volatile due to light trading, and roughly 90 minutes into the session all three major indexes are positive. After taking a dive in the first half hour of trading, the S&P has climbed back with a 0.56% session gain to 893. In a similar pattern, the Dow has moved up 0.67% to 8347, while the Nasdaq is up 0.40% to 1702. The gains are led by commodities and energy stocks. Meanwhile

Long term mortgages rates declined slightly last week although none reached the record lows that were established a few weeks ago According to results of Freddie Mac’s weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey for the period ended May 21, the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage (FRM) averaged 4.82 percent with 0.7 point compared to 4.86 percent with 0.6 point a week earlier. The 15-year FRM carried an average rate of 4.50 percent with 0.7 point. Last week the average rate was 4.52 percent with 0.6 point

Mortgage Loan Applications increased 2.3% in the week ending May 15, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association on Wednesday morning. The private industry group said their weekly index ― the Market Composite Index, which began in 1990 ― is now at 915.9, a 42% advance compared to this time one year ago. During the same period, the Refinance Index increased 4.5% to 4794.4, but the Purchase Index decreased 4.4% to 254.0. The share of mortgages that are refinance-related was 73.6% in the survey, compared