Wednesday brought Building Permits and Housing Starts figures. Privately-owned housing units authorized by building permits in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,254,000. This is 7.4 percent above the revised May rate of 1,168,000 and is 5.1 percent above the June 2016 rate of 1,193,000. Single-family authorizations in June were at a rate of 811,000; this is 4.1 percent above the revised May figure of 779,000. Authorizations of units in buildings with five units or more were at a rate of 409,000 in June.

Privately-owned housing starts in June were at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1,215,000. This is 8.3 percent above the revised May estimate of 1,122,000 and is 2.1 percent above the June 2016 rate of 1,190,000. Single-family housing starts in June were at a rate of 849,000; this is 6.3 percent above the revised May figure of 799,000. The June rate for units in buildings with five units or more was 359,000.

Thursday's session was marked by Unemployment Claims and Philly Fed Manufacturing Index data.  The lowest level of filings for U.S. unemployment benefits in about two months may reflect growing demand for workers in a tight job market, Labor Department figures showed Thursday. Jobless claims decreased by 15k to 233k (forecast was 245k); level in February was lowest since early 1970s. Continuing claims increased by 28k to 1.98m in week ended July 8 (data reported with one-week lag). Four-week average of initial claims, a less-volatile measure than the weekly figure, fell to 243.8k from 246k in prior week.

Separate report on Philly Fed Manufacturing Index showed that the index for current manufacturing activity in the region decreased from a reading of 27.6 in June to 19.5 this month. The index has been positive for 12 consecutive months, but July’s reading is the lowest since November. Thirty-seven percent of the firms indicated increases in activity in July, down from 42 percent last month. The shipments index decreased 16 points, while the new orders index fell 24 points. Nearly 31 percent of the respondents reported a rise in new orders this month, down from 45 percent in June. Both the delivery times and unfilled orders indexes were positive for the ninth consecutive month, suggesting longer delivery times and increases in unfilled orders.

This week markets will be looking at:

Existing Home Sales (Monday 16:00)        

CB Consumer Confidence (Tuesday 16:00)              

New Home Sales (Wednesday 16:00)

Federal Funds Rate/FOMC Statement (Wednesday 20:00)

Durable Goods Orders (Thursday 14:30)

Unemployment Claims (Thursday 14:30)

Advance GDP (Friday 14:30)

Revised UoM Consumer Sentiment (Friday 16:00)