The KUIK Morning Market Report for Thursday, September 7:
Markets are down.
Index
Direction
Change
Units
Index
Time
Change
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Down
(31)
points
21,774
7:07 AM
S&P500
Down
-0.1%
percent
2,462
(3.15)
Nasdaq Composite
Down
-0.1%
percent
6,385
(7.96)
30 Year Treasury
Down
(2)
Basis Points
2.70
Annual Yield
The Labor Department reports initial claims for unemploymen benefits surged by 62,000 to 298,000 the week that ended September 2nd. That’s the highest level since Spring 2015. Economists excpected only 242,000. That was mostly due to Hurricane Harvey. In Texas, where most of the damage occurred, unadjusted claims rose five times to nearly 64,000. Claims could be highfor weeks in the aftermath of Harvey, especially if Hurricane Irma hits the East Coast. Continuing claims fell by 5,000 to 1.94 million the week that ended August 26.
The Labor Department also reports good news on productivity. It said productivity increased at a 1.5% annual pace in the2nd quarter, up from the initial 0.9% estimate. Productivity rises when workers supply more goods and services in the same amount of time. Output was revised upward to 4% from 3.4%, but hours worked was unchanged at 2.5%.
Serving the West Side first, I am Bill Roller of BR Capital for 1360 KUIK.
