Foreign Markets
Markets soared overnight in Asia as China continues to see positive economic data. After a report Friday showed manufacturing sentiment rose for the second straight month, GDP for the country is expected to climb 7% in the second quarter; a 8 basis point gain over the previous quarter. The Hang Seng index closed up 860.06 points, or 5.5 %, to 16,381.05. China’s Shanghai Composite Index rose 3.3 % to 2,559.91, while South Korea’s Kospi index climbed 2.1 % to 1,397.92 which was its highest finish of the year.
After being closed Friday, Germany and France resumed trading while British markets took the day off for a public holiday. Germany’s DAX was up 83.87 points, or 1.8 %, at 4,853.32, while France’s CAC-40 rose 38.18 points, or 1.2 %, to 3,198.03.
U.S. Futures
Stocks look to open higher in the U.S. following the gains overseas and ahead of housing and construction data. Dow Jones industrial average futures rose 45, or 0.6 %, to 8,226. Standard & Poor’s 500 index futures added 4.90, or 0.6 %, to 881.00, while Nasdaq 100 index futures gained 11.25, or 0.8 %, to 1,409.75.
Stocks rose Friday as Wall Street looks to start another weekly winning streak. The Dow Jones industrial average rose 44.29, or 0.5 %, to 8,212.41.The S&P 500 index rose 4.71, or 0.5 %, to 877.52, and the Nasdaq composite index rose 1.90, or 0.1 %, to 1,719.20.For the week, the Dow rose 1.7 %, the S&P 500 index added 1.3 % and the Nasdaq rose 1.5 %. The Dow and S&P 500 had their seventh weekly gains in the last eight weeks. The Nasdaq finished ahead for an eighth straight week. More than half the companies in the S&P 500 have reported their first-quarter results. Of those, 65 % beat analyst expectations.
Currencies and Commodities
The dollar traded at 99.352 yen, rising 0.2386% in the currency market. The euro depreciated 0.26% to $1.3238 while the pound lost 0.4587% to $1.4853. Precious metals were moderately higher as gold gained $3 to $891.20 an ounce, while silver advanced 0.60% or 8 cents to $12.58. Light, sweet crude for June delivery fell 35 cents to $52.85 a barrel on the NYMEX; a 0.66% drop.
Economic News
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Pending Home Sales Index: A leading indicator of existing home sales for the month of February developed by The National Association of Realtors. This provides a gauge of not only the demand for housing, but general sentiment on the consumer front. People have to be feeling pretty comfortable and confident in their own financial position to buy a house and the ripple effect a housing purchase has throughout the economy.
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Construction Spending: The report measures the value of new construction activity on residential, non-residential, and public projects, giving a great indication of the economy’s momentum. Why would you expand your operation if you think the near term outlook is bleak? The same can be said on the residential front. Public project spending puts money back into the hands of those providing the labor and thus has its own ripple effect throughout the economy.
The consensus is for a drop of 1% in March after dropping a smaller than expected 0.9% in February.
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