Economic news this morning seems to have had a noticeable effect on the markets. July retail sales and manufacturing data from China showed less than estimated growth. Chinese central bank also cut interest rates that appears to be an intermediate step in perhaps what looks like a need for stimulating their economy. Interestingly, China will stop publishing youth unemployment data. Not sure what to make of it but the economic data sure suggests more government action might be required to improve the trajectory. Here in the US, homebuilders' confidence dropped and US retail numbers were above estimates. Retail numbers could imply that consumer appears to be strong but also cautious because this retail data coincides with back-to-school sales and when you zoom in, it seems big ticket items sales dropped (this includes car sales at dealerships). Not surprisingly, all three major US indices are in the red this morning (PST).
top of page
bottom of page
Comments