US markets end first week of 2018 on stellar note

06 Jan 2018 Evaluate

The US markets closed higher on Friday, to end the first week of 2018 on a stellar footing, marked by four straight positive session following lackluster jobs data. Friday’s rally meant that none of the equity indexes have posted a down day so far in 2018. For the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, it was the fourth straight closing record, while the Dow carved out its third in a row. The broad-market benchmark has closed at a record on the first four trading days of the New Year, the first time it has done so since 1964. The gains over the week have been buoyed by the recently passed corporate tax-cut package, rising commodity prices, and robust corporate earnings. Solid economic data and low bond yields have also been cited as contributing factors.

Meanwhile, Philadelphia Fed President Patrick Harker said he thinks the central bank will only raise interest rates twice this year, one fewer than the central bank’s median forecast of three moves. Harker said the central bank will be in monitoring mode this year. There is a lot to watch generally, and much of it, in some form or another, is new territory. The Philadelphia Fed president expects growth a little below 2.5% this year. He forecast that inflation will rise above the Fed’s 2% target in 2019. Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland President Loretta Mester said she expects roughly four interest-rate hikes this year, as US economic growth picks up and unemployment remains low. Mester added that growth is picking up a little bit and expects unemployment, now 4.1 percent, to settle around 4.75 percent. A gradual increase in interest rates is appropriately balancing the risks.

On the economy front, the US created 148,000 jobs in December. This was the slowest pace in three months, and below the 198,000 increase that economists had predicted. The unemployment rate remained steady at 4.1 percent for the third straight month. Worker pay increased 2.5 percent from December 2016 to December 2017, up from 2.4 percent in the prior month. Separately, the US trade deficit widened 3.2 percent in November to $50.5 billion, the highest trade gap since January 2012. In other economic news, the Institute for Supply Management’s nonmanufacturing index sank 1.5 points to 55.9 percent in December. US factory orders rose 1.3 percent in November, a faster pace than had been expected, and the fourth straight monthly increase. A reading of 50 or better signifies improving activity.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 220.74 points or 0.88 percent to 25,295.87 and the Nasdaq gained 58.643 points or 0.83 percent to 7,136.56, and the S&P 500 edged higher by 19.16 points or 0.70 percent to 2,743.15.

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