While you were sleeping.. U.S. stocks fell on Thursday as renewed tension on the Russia-Ukraine border overrode any enthusiasm for upbeat economic reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 42 points, or 0.25%, to 17080. The S&P 500 declined three points, or 0.17%, to 1997, while the Nasdaq Composite dropped 12 points, or 0.26%, to 4558. The Stoxx Europe 600 fell two points or 0.66%. The FTSE 100 ended 25 pointer or 0.36% lower to 6806. The CAC 40 declined 29 points or 0.66% to 4366. The DAX closed down 107 points or 1.12% to 9463. The US seven-year notes sold today yielded 2.045 percent, matching the average forecast in a survey by Bloomberg News of six of the Federal Reserve’s 22 primary dealers, which are obligated to bid in U.S. debt sales. The yield at the last offering of the maturity on July 30 was 2.250 percent. The sale’s bid-to-cover ratio was 2.57, matching the average at the past 10 auctions. Indirect bidders, an investor class that includes foreign central banks, purchased 48.8 percent of the notes, the most since April, compared with an average of 42.7 percent for the past 10 sales. Direct bidders, non-primary dealer investors that place their bids directly with the Treasury, purchased 20.4 percent of the notes, the most since May, compared with an average of 20.9 percent at the last 10 auctions. The euro fell against the dollar, yen and pound Thursday on data showing accelerating deflation in Spain and renewed conflict between Russia and Ukraine. The euro traded at $1.3165 Thursday, down from $1.3192 late Wednesday. U.S. Q2 GDP revised up to 4.2 percent. Gross domestic product grew at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.2% in the second quarter after accounting for inflation, the Commerce Department said. The agency last month initially estimated the second-quarter growth rate at 4%, relying on incomplete trade and other data. GDP contracted at a 2.1% pace in the first quarter, dragged down by falling exports and a slowdown in consumer spending that was attributed partly to severe winter weather. Indicators for July have generally been positive so far. U.S. industrial production rose 0.4% from June, according to the Federal Reserve. Housing starts climbed 15.7% and new orders for durable manufactured goods soared 22.6% on a surge in aircraft purchases, the Commerce Department said. But retail sales in July were flat from the prior month, suggesting consumers remain constrained by weak wage growth. Final sales to domestic purchasers—a version of GDP that includes imports and strips out exports and inventory changes—expanded at a 3.1% pace in the second quarter, revised up from an earlier estimate of growth at a 2.8% pace. The number of Americans filing for unemployment claims fell slightly more than expected. The labor market has made stronger strides this year. The last six months saw the strongest stretch of payroll gains since 2006, and July was the first time since 1997 that employers added 200,000 or more jobs in six consecutive months. The unemployment rate last month was a seasonally adjusted 6.2%, down from 7.3% a year earlier
Posted on: Fri, 29 Aug 2014 01:10:09 +0000
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