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Advisors on This Week’s Show
(with Max Hoelzl, Joel Dresang, engineered by Jason Scuglik)
Week in Review (Feb. 19-23, 2024)
Significant Economic Indicators & Reports
Monday
Markets closed for Presidents Day
Tuesday
The Conference Board is no longer forecasting a recession for 2024 but says it expects next to no growth in the U.S. economy in the middle half of the year. The business research group said its index of leading economic indicators declined by 0.4% in January, double the dip in December. But the latest six-month read of the index fell 3%, compared to a decline of 4.1% in the prior six months. Also – for the first time in two years – more than half of the index’s components were positive for the six-month period.
Wednesday
No major releases
Thursday
The four-week moving average for initial unemployment insurance claims declined for the first time in four weeks, remaining 41% below the 57-year average, according to new Labor Department data. Nearly 2.2 million Americans claimed jobless benefits in the latest week, up 0.5% from the week before and up 9.6% from the same time in 2023.
The National Association of Realtors heralded a rise in existing home sales in January as the beginning of a comeback for housing. The annual rate of unit sales rose 3.1% from the pace in December with a 2% increase in inventory and the seventh consecutive year-to-year gain in prices. Home sales ended 2023 at the lowest level in about three decades, but mortgage rates have declined since peaking in October. The supply of houses for sale remained below their level in January 2023. The median sale price was the highest ever for January: $379,100.
Friday
No major releases
MARKET CLOSINGS FOR THE WEEK
- Nasdaq – 15997, up 221 points or 1.4%
- Standard & Poor’s 500 – 5089, up 83 points or 1.7%
- Dow Jones Industrial – 39132, up 504 points or 1.3%
- 10-year U.S. Treasury Note – 4.26%, down 0.04 point