- Construction Spending for December rose 1.0% versus estimates of a .2% increase and an upwardly revised .5% gain in November.
- Pending Home Sales for December fell 3.0% versus estimates of a .5% decline and a 3.0% fall in November.
- ISM Manufacturing for January fell to 54.8 versus estimates of 55.5 and a reading of 55.6 in December.
- ISM Prices Paid for January rose to 65.0 versus estimates of 64.0 and a reading of 63.0 in December.
BOTTOM LINE: US construction spending rose more than forecast in December as homebuilding rebounded and office3 and commercial investment increased, Bloomberg reported. Construction spending rose 8.9% for all of 2005 to an all-time record. Construction Spending should remain healthy as hurricane rebuilding continues and commercial construction rises.
Contracts to buy previously owned US homes declined for a fourth consecutive month in Decemb
Today's Headlines
at 2006-02-06 23:45:56
Bloomberg:
- General Motors(GM) and Ford Motor(F) led junk bonds to their biggest monthly gain since June on optimism that job cuts, new models and the sale of a GM unit will restore profitability.
- Burger King plans to sell shares to the public for the first time, allowing its private equity owners to cash out three years after buying the company for $1.5 billion.
- United Airlines will exit three years of bankruptcy today with 35 new international routes, a fleet that’s about a fifth smaller, and one-third fewer workers.
- Yale, Columbia, Brown and the Univ. of Penn. Received a record number of applicants for the Class of 2010 because of increased efforts to recruit low-income students with improved financial aid packages.
- US Treasury notes fell after an industry report showed the manufacturing sector may be growing fast enough to spur the Fed to raise interest rates at least one more time.
- General Motors(GM)
Stocks Higher into Final Hour on Short-covering and Oil Price Reversal
at 2006-02-06 23:45:56
BOTTOM LINE: The Portfolio is higher into the final hour on gains in my Networking longs, Medical Information Systems longs, Biotech longs, Computer longs and Energy-related shorts. I added (COP) short and added to a few existing longs this afternoon, thus leaving the Portfolio 100% net long. The tone of the market is slightly positive as the advance/decline line is modestly higher, most sectors are higher and volume is heavy. Measures of investor anxiety are mostly lower. Earlier today we had a 40-point decline in market leader Google (GOOG), higher oil prices, higher long-term rates, more rhetoric from Iran and mixed economic data. However, the major averages are higher with slightly positive breadth this afternoon. This market is very resilient, which bodes well for further gains in stocks over the coming weeks. I expect US stocks to trade modestly higher into the close from current levels
Stocks Finish at Session Highs as Energy Prices Reverse and Shorts Cover
at 2006-02-06 23:45:56
Indices
S&P 500 1,282.46 +.19%
DJIA 10,953.95 +.82%
NASDAQ 2,310.56 +.21%
Russell 2000 735.48 +.31%
S&P Barra Growth 610.92 +.14%
S&P Barra Value 667.45 +.23%
Morgan Stanley Consumer 595.63 +.53%
Morgan Stanley Cyclical 795.32 +.29%
Morgan Stanley Technology 541.96 +.16%
Transports 4,321.70 -1.05%
Utilities 414.46 +.15%
Put/Call .84 +9.09%
NYSE Arms .85 -43.61%
Volatility(VIX) 12.36 -4.56%
ISE Sentiment 221.00 +49.32%
US Dollar 89.50 +.61%
CRB 344.59 -1.17%
Futures Spot Prices
Crude Oil 66.22 -.51%
Unleaded Gasoline 171.00 -1.09%
Natural Gas 8.80 +.88%
Heating Oil 181.10 -.71%
Gold 573.60 -.07%
Base Metals 172.35 +1.46%
Copper 225.00 +.04%
10-year US Treasury Yield 4.55% +.97%
Leading Sectors
HMOs +2.06%
Networkin
