Thursday brought Durable Goods Orders, Unemployment Claims and New Home Sales figures. Orders for durable U.S. goods fell a seasonally adjusted 2% in August , mostly because of lower bookings for autos and airplanes. That matched the 2 % drop forecast by economists. Orders minus transportation were flat, the Commerce Department said Thursday. Orders for core capital goods - a proxy for business investment - slipped 0.2%. Shipments of core capital goods, a category used to help determine quarterly economic growth, also fell 0.2% in August.
In the week ending September 19, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 267,000, an increase of 3,000 from the previous week's unrevised level of 264,000, this was in line with market forecasts. The 4-week moving average was 271,750, a decrease of 750 from the previous week's unrevised average of 272,500.
Sales of newly built homes rose in August, a sign the housing market's modest recovery is extending into the second half of the year. Sales of new, single-family homes rose by 5.7% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 552,000. Economists had expected a rate of 515,000. The data largely indicates low-interest rates and stronger job creation are supporting demand for new housing, though that demand remains muted compared to a decade ago when nearly three times as many new homes sold annually.
Friday was marked by GDP and Revised Consumer Sentiment figures. U.S. GDP increased at an annual rate of 3.9% in the second quarter of 2015, according to the "third" estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the first quarter, real GDP increased 0.6%. In the second estimate, the increase in real GDP was 3.7%. With the third estimate for the second quarter, the general picture of economic growth remains the same; personal consumption expenditures (PCE) and nonresidential fixed investment increased more than previously estimated.
A late-month boost among wealthier Americans kept consumer sentiment from falling as much as forecast in September, indicating some households are starting to look beyond the recent turmoil in financial markets.The University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment final index for the month decreased to 87.2, the lowest level since October, from 91.9 in August. The median projection called for a reading 86.5, compared with a preliminary September reading of 85.7.
Next week markets will be looking at:
Pending Home Sales (Monday 16:00)
CB Consumer Confidence (Tuesday 16:00)
Chicago PMI (Wednesday 15:45)
Unemployment Claims (Thursday 14:30)
ISM Manufacturing PMI (Thursday 16:00)
Non-Farm Employment Change/Unemployment Rate (Friday 14:30)
