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Market Direction Is Important –
Updated Chart of the S&P 500 and Secondary Signals
Of our Four secondary indicators under our MTI:
Relative Strength Index (RSI)-Positive
Chaikin Money Flow (CMF)-Positive
MACD- Positive
Money Flow Index-MFI-Positive
More on the Market and the Economy:
Stocks extended their post-FOMC rally on Friday, with the S&P 500 finishing the week up1.35% – logging it’s fifth straight weekly gain, and bringing the index into positive territory for the year.
Source: dshort.com
This week data will be released existing home sales, new home sales, durable goods orders and GDP.
At last week’s FOMC meeting, the Fed held rates unchanged and signaled that it will hike rates more slowly than anticipated in the face of a weaker global economy: “economic activity will expand at a moderate pace and labor market indicators will continue to strengthen. However, global economic and financial developments continue to pose risks”, according to the FOMC statement. The Fed’s “dot plot” showed the central bank expects two rate increases this year, down from four. The Fed trimmed its growth estimate for 2016 to 2.2% from 2.4%.
The Conference Board’s Leading Economic Index increased .1% in February, following declines in December and January. According to the Conference Board, “The U.S. LEI increased slightly in February, after back-to-back monthly declines, but housing permits, stock prices, consumer expectations, and new orders remain sources of weakness. Although the LEI’s six-month growth rate has moderated considerably in recent months, the outlook remains positive with little chance of a downturn in the near-term”.
The Atlanta Fed’s GDPNow model is forecasting growth of 1.9% for the first quarter, following the release of data on inflation, industrial production and housing starts.
According to the JOLTS report, the number of available jobs increased in January to 5.54 million, however, fewer workers left their current job, as the quits rate fell to 2%.
Industrial production slipped .5% in February, the fourth decline in the past five months. Output was weighed down by 4% drop in utilities and a 1.4% drop in mining, meanwhile manufacturing rose for the second month in a row.
Construction on new homes reached a five-month high in February: housing starts rose 5.2% to an annual rate of 1.18 million. Single-family starts jumped 7.2% to an annual 822,000 – the highest level since 2007.
Source: NAHB