October 2009 - MND NewsWire

Upbeat earnings and the +3.5% GDP report helped US stocks jump around 2% yesterday, though the gains weren’t enough to wipe out losses from earlier in the week. The market is still down 2.9% from its annual high on October 19. This morning Dow Futures are looking down 32.00 points at 9871.00, still a ways off from the 10k mark, and the S&P 500 looks to open 4.00 points lower at 1057.50. Meanwhile, the Treasury yesterday completed its record $123 billion issuance of government-backed securities. Despite the growing deficit, each auction was “heavily oversubscribed, drawing in a total of $372.4 billion in bids, more than three times the offered amount,” said the Wall Street Journal. The US$ index is flat this morning following heavy losses yesterday as equities rallied. WTI crude oil is down 0.4% to $79.55, and spot gold is off $2 to $1045.

Mortgage rates for the last week have remained relatively unchanged according to information released by Freddie Mac from its weekly Primary Mortgage Market Survey and Fannie Mae's report on average yields.

quities were slashed yesterday after the new home sales report posted an unexpected 3.6% decline for September. The S&P 500 fell 1.95%, the Nasdaq shed 2.67%, and the Dow moved further south from the 10k mark as it fell 1.21% to 9,762.69. This morning, ahead of the first look at Q3 GDP, markets are cautious but generally looking up. That’s not bad considering economists at Morgan Stanley, BofA-Merrill Lynch, and Goldman Sachs all reduced their estimates for the preliminary survey earlier in the week.

Shares in the S&P 500 have fallen for three consecutive days and on Wednesday futures are extending those losses ahead of fresh data and more Q3 earnings. About two hours before the open the S&P looks to open nearly 6 points down, after trimming 3.4 points yesterday. While investors wait for the durable goods report, which is expected to advance in September, sentiment will remain skittish as investors open up the Wall Street Journal to learn that GM’s financing arm, GMAC, is seeking more taxpayer aid.

This month, the S&P Case Shiller Home Price Index continued to improve as prices in 17 of 20 metro cities increased in August, albeit at a slower pace than July. Overall, the 20-city index rose 1.2%, better than economist expectations for a read of +0.7% and the 10-city home price index increased at a rate of 1.3%. Year over year the 20-city index is 11.3% lower, again better than the market's expectation of -11.9%.

Eight trading days have passed since the Dow crossed 10,000 for the first time in over a year. Yet mixed data and third-quarter earnings since then have caused equities to dance around the psychological threshold. On Friday the Dow closed at 9,972; heading into the week futures are pointing slightly upwards. Wall Street is looking for Q3 GDP to climb 3% in Thursday’s release. If that’s the case the markets could gain enough momentum to stop the dance and remain steady in five-digits. However, consumer sentiment, flat wages, and weak spending could all bring stocks down. And that’s not even mentioning the perennial concerns of the jobs market...

Existing-home sales jumped 9.4 percent to an annual rate of 5.57 million units in September from a level of 5.10 million in August, and are 9.2 percent higher than the 5.10 million-unit pace in September 2008. Overall, today's release indicated continued progress in the stabilization of the housing market. However we are troubled by the forward looking statements Yun made regarding the variables that must continue to improve if housing it to undergo further stabilization and recovery.