Friends
It is somewhat fascinating after last week’s market doldrums and the fact that the market has lost one of its leaders that stocks continue to tack on gains for the week. Speaking of lost leaders, the grounding of Boeing’s 737 Max airliners put more pressure on the company’s shares (though it erased earlier losses by the close), but even with those headlines the market in general was able to hold its gains.
For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 148 points to close at 25,702. The S&P 500 was up 19 points to finish the day at 2,810. Gold was up $13 to trade at $1,311 per ounce, while oil was up $1.55 to trade at $58.42 per barrel WTI.
Though the Boeing situation commanded, and rightfully so, all the headlines, we did get a couple of economic data points including the PPI which came in lighter than expected and durable goods which came in much better than expected-ironically driven by commercial aircraft orders (see Boeing). Recent economic data is tilting positive once again, and coupled with muted inflation pressures the economic backdrop seems stable for the moment. Now, that’s not to say that an earnings decline still isn’t in the cards. We’ve already explained why that is likely; given the earnings growth we have seen the past couple of years. But, at least it appears that the economy has found its footing, despite the gloom and doom predictions. Quite a fascinating week, so far.
Jim
