Investors are awaiting another roller coaster week with stocks that rise and fall with the day’s news, notes Grumpy Editor.
Look at the see-saw action with the Dow Jones industrials last week after Memorial Day on May 28: Tuesday, down 391.64 points at 24361.45; Wednesday, up 306.33 points; Thursday, down 251.94 points; Friday, up 219.37 points, closing at 24635.21 --- slightly higher than Tuesday’s close.
As Kate Warne, of financial services firm Edward Jones puts it: “Stocks swung every day but ended last week little changed --- a good reminder to avoid overreacting to daily moves. Bond prices were also volatile, rising when stocks fell and falling as stocks rose. Better-than-expected U.S. job growth countered rising worries about trade wars and new European political uncertainties.”
“Political concerns will likely jump into and out of the headlines, driving volatility going forward,” adds Warne. “But last week also supported our view that the broader bull market has gas left in the tank, fueled by positive fundamentals of further economic growth.”
Friday’s report from the Labor Department shows a robust gain with 230,000 jobs added in May, higher than the expected 190,000.
Meanwhile, the unemployment rate drops to 3.8 percent in May --- its lowest level since April 2000 --- from 3.9 percent a month prior.
IN CASE YOUR FAVORITE NEWS OUTLETS MISSED THESE…
CONSUMER CONFIDENCE JUMPS. The Conference Board says U.S. consumer confidence, buoyed by a positive view of the job market, rose to 128.0 last month --- a 17-year high --- from 125.6 in April.
CALIFORNIA BANS EMPLOYEES' TRAVEL TO NINE STATES. California bans funding for state employees to travel to states with laws it perceives to be discriminatory. Oklahoma, Alabama, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee and Texas are places where Golden State public employees can't go unless they are investigating a crime or tax dispute, complying with a grant or are required to go through a court order, reports Newsmax.com.
SEARS TO CLOSE MORE STORES. Sears plans to shutter 72 more stores this year, including 48 Sears stores and 15 Kmarts. All will be closed by early September. By the end of this year Sears will have fewer than 1,000 stores.
IRS TO UPDATE ITS COMPUTERS. In efforts to implement tax law changes, the Internal Revenue Service plans to spend $291 million updating its 140 computer systems.
PACIFIC COMMAND NAME CHANGES. The Pentagon is changing the name of the military’s Pacific Command headquarters to U.S. Indo-Pacific Command in an effort to improve the U.S.-India alliance.
ANOTHER TYPE OF TV RERUN. CBS This Morning on a quiet Saturday (June 1) devoted air time to go back 65 years for a look at Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation in 1963.
CUTS IN DRUG PRICES PREDICTED. Major pharmaceutical companies will announce “voluntary, massive” cuts in drug prices in two weeks, predicts President Donald Trump without providing details.
QUICK TURNAROUND BY CONSUMER REPORTS. Tesla Inc.’s Model 3 electric sedan won a recommendation from Consumer Reports after an over-the-air software update improved braking by almost 20 feet. A week earlier, CR declined to recommend the Model 3 after testing showed it took longer to stop than a Ford F-150 pickup.
COKE TESTS BOOZE IN JAPAN. Coca-Cola Co. launches its first alcoholic product in its 132-year history, a lemon-flavored fizzy drink that will be available with three percent, five percent and seven percent alcohol, but only to consumers on the Japanese island of Kyushu. Fortune magazine says “Japan is something of a testbed for Coke; it experiments with 100 new products a year there.”
PLASTIC PRODUCTS BAN PROPOSED. The European Commission proposes the world's biggest ban on single-use plastic products, from straws to cutlery, in order "to save the environment and people from excessive plastic pollution."
Comments