Clothingmaker. We have all that and more tonight on nightly Business Report forthursday, march 20th. Good evening, everyone, and welcome. Winter is over and spring has sprung. Sort of. And for their part, stocks sprang as in sprang back from yesterdays losses. The chill that fed chief janet yellen put into stocks yesterday when she hinted that Interest Rates might rise sooner than expected next year was all but gone today. Got a boost from better than expected economic data. The Philadelphia Fed reported a boost in Business Activity in its region this month. A private reading on leading Economic Indicators was higher in february. Even though jobless claims rose by 5,000 last week, the increase was less than expected. So the dow was up by about 108 points. The nasdaq and s p both added 11. But even though stocks ended higher today, the threat of rising Interest Rates is still worrying many investors. What does it mean for their stock portfolios and for their fixed Income Holdings . Domi
Volatile day. The s p 500 currently sits down 1. 75 . Nasdaq touching correction territory earli earlier before bouncing a bit. S p 500 is not quite there yet. But were on that watch over the next 60 minutes as well. A couple other gauges to watch, the vix jumping to 31 even. We have the ten year which this morning that was the big headline. The key benchmark u. S. Interest rate falling below 2 for the First Time Since 2013. Oil falling briefly or flirting with 80 level before closing at 81. And gas prices are in free fall. The key question snou whether all of this will ultimately be supportive for the u. S. Consumer or signals more trouble ahead . The biggest outperformer, the vix. Ripping to day. The socalled fear gauge on wall street gives you an idea of where the sentiment is within this market. Its up 20 . That is quite a move. And thats not even at the highest levels of the day. The vix got above 30, a place it hasnt been in an awful long time. All of that helps to tell the story
Headwinds out there, whether its gas prices, the payroll taxes, or whether disruptions. Lorwer income americans seem to be the most fragile, on tuesday Charles Holly said taxes are his shoppers number two concern, adding its the first time in a long time taxes were a top concern at all. Itg Investment Research chief economist steve blitz says this retail sales report illustrates two separate consumer groups. With higher income americans spending on autos and Building Supplies while lower income americans continue to be adversely impacted by higher payroll taxes, rising gas prices and delayed tax refund checks, a sentiment echoed by the National Retail federation. For nightly Business Report, im courtney reagan. As courtney just mentioned, consumers are spending on housing and garden supplies. Coming up, well take you behind the scenes of the home depot product walk. Its where Companies Showcase their hottest home items for this spring. Chief executives of some of americas Biggest Compa
Ended in both places with definitive outcomes. On wall street, that outcome was another record high close for the dow, and we begin there tonight. Now, the dows win streak continues. Nine in a row. The blue chip index hasnt done that in 16 years. In fact it hasnt had a down day this month. Today the dow added 5 points, ending at 14,455, its seventh Straight Record closing high. The nasdaq was up nearly 3 points and the s p 500 inched 2 points higher. That leaves it less than 11 points from its alltime closing high. Now, the markets got an early boost from strong retail sales last month, which rose 1. 1 , nearly double what economists had expected. Thats the biggest spending gain in five months. But as Courtney Reagan tells us, those top line numbers can be deceiving. The governments headline retail sales number came in nearly double what economists expected for february. The details reveal a less than rosy picture when it comes to Discretionary Spending. I think the consumer is still i
Its gas prices, the payroll taxes, or whether disruptions. Lorwer income americans seem to be the most fragile, on tuesday Charles Holly said taxes are his shoppers number two concern, adding its the first time in a long time taxes were a top concern at all. Itg Investment Research chief economist steve blitz says this retail sales report illustrates two separate consumer groups. With higher income americans spending on autos and Building Supplies while lower income americans continue to be adversely impacted by higher payroll taxes, rising gas prices and delayed tax refund checks, a sentiment echoed by the National Retail federation. For nightly Business Report, im courtney reagan. As courtney just mentioned, consumers are spending on housing and garden supplies. Coming up, well take you behind the scenes of the home depot product walk. Its where Companies Showcase their hottest home items for this spring. Chief executives of some of americas Biggest Companies are optimistic about the