Market Update Report 2/21/2018

The KUIK Market Update for Wednesday, February 21:

Markets are up.

Index

Direction

Change

Units

Index

Time

Change

Dow Jones Industrial Average

Up

                   109

 points

          25,074

7:48 AM

S&P500

Up

0.6%

percent

            2,731

Nasdaq Composite

Up

0.8%

percent

            7,290

30 Year Treasury

Up

                      1

Basis Points

              3.16

Annual Yield

Existing-home sales ran at a seasonally adjusted annual pace of 5.38 million in January, according to the National Association of Realtors. Economists expected 5.59 million. Sales of previously-owned homes fell 3.2% in January, for the second straight monthly decline. Sales are 4.8% lower than a year ago for the steepest annual decline in more than three years.

The Federal Reserve should continue to raise short-term interest rates “gradually and patiently,” says Dallas Fed President Rob Kaplan, in comments coming ahead of the release of minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee’s January meeting. The Fed has signalled three rate hikes this year but a growing number of economists think the Fed will tighten at a faster pace in the wake of tax cut and building inflation pressure.

Sign up for a  Social Security and Retirement Analysis at brcapitalinc.com/kuik. Serving the West Side first, I am Bill Roller for 1360 KUIK.

www.marketwatch.com/story/existing-home-sales-tumble-at-the-fastest-pace-in-more-than-3-years-as-supply-crunch-deepens-2018-02-21

www.marketwatch.com/story/dallas-fed-president-says-interest-rates-should-be-gradually-and-patiently-raised-2018-02-21

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