The KUIK Morning Market Report for Tuesday, March 14:
Markets are down.
Index
Direction
Change
Units
Time
Dow
Down
(45)
points
20,836
6:53 AM
S&P500
Down
-0.4%
percent
2,364
Nasdaq Composite
Down
-0.5%
percent
5,849
30 Year Treasury
Unchanged
–
Basis Points
3.19
Annual Yield
The National Federation of Independent Business reports its survey of small business sentiment fell 0.6 to 105.3. That’s smaller than the 0.9 drop expected by economists. The survey had its biggest surge in its fourty year history in December after the election. It rose again in January, defying expectations for a correction. In February, only three of the 10 components increased. Nearly one-third of respondents reported having job openings they could not fill, a recovery high, and 17% said “finding qualified labor” was the single most important problem, ahead of regulations, but second to taxes.
Wholesale prices continued to rise in February, rising 0.3% as the cost of services increased. Economists predicted a 0.1% gain. That pushed the gain in the last 12 months up to 2.2%, the highest rate since March 2012. Higher inflation will mean the Federal Reserve will probably raise interest rates this week.
Serving the West Side first, I am Bill Roller of BR Capital for 1360 KUIK.
