US market 16.3.2010

US MARKET
Mixed finish for stocks
Stocks ended mixed Monday, fighting back from big losses, as investors weighed Moody's warning about the United States' AAA rating and a proposed bank regulation bill ahead of Tuesday's Federal Reserve meeting. Stocks had tumbled through the early afternoon, but managed to trim losses by the close. The Dow Jones industrial average gained 0.2%
(+17.5 pts, close 10,642.5). The Nasdaq lost 0.2% (-5.5 pts, close 2,362.2) and the S&P 500 lost 0.1% (+0.5 pts, close 1,150.5). U.S. light crude oil for April delivery fell US$1.44 to US$79.80 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. (CNNmoney)
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Higher industrial production points to more investment
Industrial production unexpectedly rose in February, due in part to gains in demand for computers and semiconductors that signal the pickup in U.S. business investment is being sustained. Output climbed 0.1%, the eighth consecutive increase, as utility use and mining increased, figures from the Federal Reserve showed yesterday in Washington. Economists forecast industrial production would be unchanged after increasing 0.9% the prior month, according to the median of 60 projections in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates in the survey ranged from gains of 0.5% to a 0.7% decline. (Bloomberg)
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Manufacturing in New York expands for eighth month
Manufacturing in the New York region expanded in March for an eighth straight month, indicating factories are sustaining production and lifting the U.S. economy. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s general economic index fell to 22.9 this month, in line with the median forecast of economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, from 24.9 in February. Readings
above zero signal growth in the so-called Empire State Index that covers New York and parts of New Jersey and Connecticut. The report showed orders, sales and employment increased in March, a sign that manufacturing gains may last for months and help spur the rest of the economy. Factories added workers to payrolls in the first two months of 2010 after companies replenished inventories that were drawn down at a record pace last year. Economists forecast the New York Fed’s index would decrease to 22 according to the median of 40 projections in a Bloomberg News survey. Estimates ranged from 15 to 29. (Bloomberg)
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Homebuilder index declined to 15 in March
Confidence among U.S. homebuilders unexpectedly declined in March, a sign the housing recovery is having trouble gaining momentum. The National Association of Home Builders/Wells Fargo index of builder confidence dropped to 15 this month from 17 in February, the Washington-based group said yesterday. A reading below 50 means most respondents
view conditions as poor. The report showed traffic of prospective buyers dropped to a one-year low, indicating an extension of a tax credit for purchases is sparking little interest. Projections of record foreclosures this year, a lack of job growth and an end to Federal Reserve purchases of mortgage-backed debt are hurdles for the real estate market. The builder confidence index was forecast to hold at 17, according to the median forecast of 43 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News. Projections ranged from 15 to 19. The index, first published in January 1985, averaged 15 last year. (Bloomberg)
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Europe: Employment in record decline
The number of people employed in the 16-nation Eurozone fell by a record 2.7m last year, as the economic crisis took itstoll, official figures showed. There were 347,000 fewer Eurozone employees in 4QCY09, according to the European Unionstatisticians Eurostat, a sign that the payroll losses were losing pace at least. Employment fell in the Eurozone fell by 1.8%
last year, after a rise of 0.9% in 2008. In the 27-nation EU as a whole, over 4.02m fewer people were in gainful employment. (AFP)