The KUIK Market Update for Wednesday, December 21:
Markets are down.
Index
Direction
Change
Units
Time
Dow
Down
(21)
points
19,955
8:12 AM
S&P500
Down
-0.1%
percent
2,268
Nasdaq Composite
Down
-0.3%
percent
5,467
30 Year Treasury
Down
(1)
Basis Points
3.14
Annual Yield
Existing-home sales for November ran at a seasonally adjusted 5.61 million annual rate according to the National Association of Realtors. That’s up 0.7% from October’s downwardly-revised 5.57 million pace, the high since February 2007, and better than the 5.5 million expected by economists. Novemberās rate was 15.4% higher compared to November of 2015. There were only 4 months of supply at the current pace of sales, the 18th month in which inventory was tighter compared to its level a year ago. Thatās pushing up price. The median price across the country was $234,900, up 6.8%.
Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew on Tuesday warned the incoming Trump economic team and the new Republican Congress they should not ignore how their tax cut plans impact the federal budget deficit. āBecause if you open a big fiscal gap, the only way to close it is to cut spending or raise taxes,ā Lew said. The budget deficit widened 34% to $587 billion in the 2016 fiscal year that ended Sept. 30, the first increase in five years.
Serving the West Side first, I am Bill Roller of BR Capital for 1360 KUIK.
