Weekly Market Recap

Weekly Market Recap – January 15, 2021

In the Markets
Thursday’s jobless claim report was sharply higher, coming in at 965,000, 16.3% greater than the average of 830,000 expected by Wall Street analysts. The unexpected increase set the tone for a slight stock market selloff that persisted to the week’s end, despite the positive signals from president-elect Biden’s …

Weekly Market Recap – January 8, 2021

In the Markets
The December non-farm payroll figure came in as a drop of 140,000 vs. November’s 336,000 increase, despite analysts’ average expectation of +50,000. Initial jobless claims were practically unchanged, amounting to 787,000 vs. 790,000 in the previous week’s report; Wall Street analysts had expected an average of 815,000. As …

Weekly Market Recap – December 31, 2020

In the Markets
This shortened holiday week was also short on economic statistics. The weekly initial jobless claims were 835,000 vs. 803,000 the previous week. Pandemic statistics are continuing to worsen; the US death toll is now more than 350,000. The stimulus bill was signed. The Brexit trade separation between UK …

Weekly Market Recap – December 24, 2020

In the Markets
After a couple of weekly reports showing that new jobless claims were increasing, the figure fell with 803,000 requests for unemployment benefits. The previous week had 892,000 initial claims. Americans who continue to be out of work now number 20.36 million; there were 20.65 million the previous week. …

Weekly Market Recap – December 18, 2020

In the Markets
Weekly initial jobless claims shot higher to 885,000; there were 862,000 new claims the previous week. The monthly report of the index of leading economic indicators advanced 0.6%, the lowest change in five months. Industrial production rose 0.4%, weaker than the prior month (+0.9%). The retail sales report …

Weekly Market Recap – December 11, 2020

In the Markets
Jobless claims were sharply higher, coming in at 853,000, 18.4% higher than the average of 720,000 expected by Wall Street analysts. Consumer credit for October increased by $7billion, nearly half of September’s $15 billion. Wholesale inventories increased 1.1%, up slightly from the previous month’s 0.9% gain. CPI for …

Weekly Market Recap – December 4, 2020

In the Markets
The week ended with US coronavirus statistics hitting unprecedented levels. New cases numbered more than 210,000, hospitalizations exceeded 100,000 and the death toll surpassed 275,000 nationwide. On employment, analysts’ average expectation for November non-farm payrolls was 432,000, but the figure came in at 245,000. In terms of new …

Weekly Market Recap – November 27, 2020

In the Markets
After a month of new jobless claims decreasing, the tally reversed direction with 778,000 requests for unemployment benefits. The previous week had 748,000. The total number of Americans who continue to be out of work is now 20.45 million (vs. 20.32 million.) Economic data releases and indices, compared …

Weekly Market Recap – November 20, 2020

In the Markets
The retail sales report for October increased by 0.3%, down from September’s 1.6%.
Industrial production rose 1.1% compared to the prior month (-0.4%). Nationwide unemployment figures indicate that the jobless total eased to 20.32 million from the previous week’s 21.16 million. 742,000 of those were new claims, compared …

Weekly Market Recap – November 13, 2020

In the Markets
Economic news for the week ending November 13th indicated a slight improvement in the employment statistics. The number is now 21.16 million unemployed compared with 21.53 million the previous week. New jobless claims came in at 709,000 vs. 751,000 from a week earlier. Consumer prices were unchanged for …

Weekly Market Recap – November 6, 2020

In the Markets
Data from Johns Hopkins University showed 126,742 new US cases of COVID-19 on Saturday. This marked the fourth day in one week of more than 100,000 new reported cases. Sixteen states have indicated record high COVID-19 hospitalizations, according to the Covid Tracking Project. In the US, more than …

Weekly Market Recap – October 30, 2020

In the Markets
Third-quarter GDP growth was a record +33.1% vs. a 31.4% decline in Q2. There were 751,000 new jobless claims reported, compared to 791,000 the previous week, for a total of 22.65 million unemployed workers, down from 23.07 million. Personal income rose 0.9%, compared with the prior month’s 2.5% …

Weekly Market Recap – October 23, 2020

In the Markets
A record one-day high of more than 83,000 US coronavirus cases was reported on Friday. New jobless claims were 787,000 for the reported week, and continuous unemployment benefit claims improved to 23.15 million people, down from 24.2 million. September’s index of leading economic indicators fell to 0.7%, down …

Weekly Market Recap – October 16, 2020

In the Markets
Coronavirus cases are surging in Europe, and with the weather cooling, the US braces for a new wave of infections. At least nine states are reporting record numbers of new cases, and thirteen states have positivity rates in excess of 10%. The Labor Department reported 898,000 new jobless …

Weekly Market Recap – October 9, 2020

In the Markets
Initial jobless claims for the week ending October 3rd were 840,000 vs. median expectations of 820,000. For the past month, this statistic has been moving within the range between 800,000 and 900,000. The trade balance figure for August was a deficit of $67.1 billion, lower than the $63.4 …

Weekly Market Recap – October 2, 2020

In the Markets
On Friday, President Trump was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center after testing positive for COVID-19. Several other people who had attended his Rose Garden gathering the previous Saturday tested positive, as well. On Wednesday, the global total of COVID-19 deaths reportedly surpassed 1 million. 837,000 …

Weekly Market Recap – September 25, 2020

In the Markets
Unemployment remains a focal point of the nation’s economic health. The labor department reported that new applications for jobless benefits rose to 870,000 compared to 866,000 the previous week. For August, the unemployment rate was 8.4%, down from nearly 15% in April. Government reports on existing home sales …

Weekly Market Recap – September 18, 2020

In the Markets
Thursday’s Labor Department report stated that initial unemployment benefit claims totaled 790,000 before adjustments for seasonal factors, down from the prior week’s 866,000 tally. It is still four times what it had been before the pandemic led to shutdowns and layoffs back in March. As tech stocks continued …

Weekly Market Recap – September 11, 2020

In the Markets
The unemployment claims number held steady at 884,000, unchanged from the revised figure for the previous week, which is a sign that the US recovery might be losing steam. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on Friday that the cost of goods and services rose sharply for the …

Weekly Market Recap – August 28, 2020

In the Markets
US employers added 1.4 million jobs in August, down from 1.7 million in July, lowering the number to 8.4% of workers unemployed. 881,000 new jobless benefit filings were reported on Thursday. The Congressional Budget Office stated that the 2020 budget deficit would be the greatest since the end …

Weekly Market Recap – August 28, 2020

In the Markets
Initial jobless claims were above 1 million again (1,006,000), and 35 states have been approved for the enhanced unemployment benefit of $300 per week that was authorized by executive order on August 8th. A Category 4 hurricane, Laura, delivered the strongest landfall in Louisiana in 164 years, and …

Weekly Market Recap – August 21, 2020

In the Markets
The homebuilding sector is emerging as one of the few strongholds in an economy battered by the pandemic. Housing starts increased by 22.6%, the largest gain since October 2016. Apple became the first US company to reach a $2 trillion valuation. New jobless claims unexpectedly jumped to 1.1 …

Weekly Market Recap – August 14, 2020

In the Markets
The US unemployment claims figure came in at less than one million (963,000) for the first time in 21 weeks. Core retail sales rose 1.9%, which was higher than the 1.2% expectation; sales at stores and restaurants have now risen for three straight months after plunging in March …

Weekly Market Recap – August 7, 2020

In the Markets
US employers added 1.8 million jobs in July. The unemployment rate decreased to 10.2%. The new jobless benefit filings for the prior week fell to 1.2 million claims. Less than half of the job loss caused by the pandemic has been recovered. Congress made no progress in talks on …