Opening Comment — Thursday, April 18, 2024
DJIA: 37,753.31, down 45.66
S&P 500: 5,022.21, down 29.20
NASDAQ: 15,683.37, down 181.88
Stocks higher ahead of existing home sales
Stock futures are higher on Thursday, as investors look forward to the releases of March’s existing home sales and other economic data. The Dow and the S&P 500 are both increasing 0.2%. The Nasdaq 100 is up 0.3% relative to fair value on the GLOBEX.
U.S. equities were lower on Wednesday, as investors digested the latest earnings releases. Meanwhile, the Federal Reserve’s (Fed’s) Beige Book reported that the economy has expanded slightly since late February and that firms have been less able to pass on costs to consumers. The Dow was down 0.1%, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell 1.2%. The S&P 500 decreased 0.6% with seven of 11 sectors finishing in negative territory. The Information Technology sector declined the most, falling 1.7%.
On the data front today, initial jobless claims for the week ending April 13 are expected to be 215,000, higher than the prior week’s 211,000, while continuing claims for the week ending April 6 are projected to register 1.82 million, roughly unchanged from the prior week’s reading. The Conference Board’s U.S. Leading Economic Index is forecasted to decrease 0.1% month-over-month (MoM) in March versus the prior month’s increase of 0.1%. Existing home sales for March are expected to be an annualized 4.2 million units, lower than the prior month’s 4.4 million units, corresponding to decrease of 4.1% MoM in March versus the prior month’s increase of 9.5%. The Philadelphia Fed business outlook survey for April will be released, with the diffusion index for current general activity projected to record 2.0 versus the prior month’s 3.2.
Across the pond, European stocks are higher in mid-day trading as investors evaluate the latest earnings releases and look forward to key economic data scheduled for next week.
Overnight in Asia, stocks were higher with Australia’s unemployment rate for March increasing less than expected, while the country’s business confidence increased in the first quarter.
In FOREX trading, the dollar is slightly lower ahead of March’s existing home sales data.
Over in the commodity pits, West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude oil is 1.1% lower at $81.81/barrel, following a greater-than-expected increase in U.S. crude oil inventories. The U.S. announced that it would reinstate oil sanctions on Venezuela, while the European Union discussed implementing new restrictions on Iran.
In the metals complex, gold is 0.1% higher at $2374.10/ounce following a weakening dollar.