“People say that what we’re all seeking is a meaning for life. I don’t think that’s what we’re really seeking. I think that what we’re seeking is an experience of being alive.”
Joseph Campbell: writer and lecturer on mythology Read the rest of this entry »
After yesterday’s outsized rally, the market is higher in early trading following some solid reports. In economic news, pending home sales rose +5.2% in July vs. expectations for no change. So that is a pretty solid report.
Busy morning for me so far, so I’ll have to keep this post brief. The market was already set to open higher after upbeat data out of Europe and Asia had those markets trading higher.
The market has been both lower and higher already in early trading, as a few economic releases swayed early trading. The CaseShiller Home Price Index for June rose to 148.0 from 146.5. That was a slight improvement, but most of the housing slowdown that has been talked about began in July, so this report will likely be taken with a grain of salt until we see how July fared.
The market was higher right after the open, after Q2 GDP was revised down to 1.6%, which was still higher than the 1.4% many were expecting. Additionally, personal consumption for Q2 was actually revised higher to 2.0% from 1.6%.
Below is a graph from my colleague Helene Meisler at TheStreet.com which shows this week’s Investor’s Intelligence poll.
I am back from my visit of taking my kids to see their grandparents in Cleveland. It sure does seem that the market always falls out of bed when I am away from my desk. Of course, these days you can access your systems from anywhere, but it’s just not the same thing.
The market rallied nicely yesterday, but volume was again quite low. That’s how it often is in August, as traders and portfolio managers get their summer vacations in prior to September, when things kick into high gear again.
The market is nicely higher in early trading. There have been a handful of solid earnings reports in the retail space, including Wal-Mart (WMT), Home Depot), and Urban Outfitters (URBN), and those stocks are higher.
The market opened on a down note this morning, but it attempting to bounce as of this writing.
There hasn’t been much in the way of market moving headlines so far today. The Empire Manufacturing index was a little light at 7.1 ( vs. 7.5 consensus), but that is up from last month’s reading of 5.1.
