Two in a row!
The U.S. stock markets continued their late-day rally habits today, with all three benchmarks finishing to the upside. The Dow gained an even 100 points to finish at 13,463, while the S&P added 6 to close at 1472. The NASDAQ finished ahead 22 at 2575.
Initial Claims came in below expectations today at 307,000 versus estimates of 310,000. Factory Orders came in at .6%, well below the 1% expectation. Tomorrow will be a more active day on the economic calendar, with both Unemployment and Non-farm Payrolls set to be released.
Bonds had a relatively flat day, with the yield on the 10-year Note moving up 1 basis point from 4.76 to 4.77. The spread between the 2- and 10-Year Notes remains the same at 18 basis points.
Overseas, the Nikkei finished at 16,984 (up .67%) and the Hang Seng moved down less than .1%, closing at 22,443.
Economic Data Scheduled for Friday, August 3, 2007
(All times are U.S. Central Time)
U.S.
7:30 AM: July Non-farm payrolls (Consensus +135K)
7:30 AM: July Unemployment rate (Consensus 4.5%)
7:30 AM: July Average hourly earnings (Consensus +0.3%)
9:00AM: July ISM Non-Manufacturing Index (Consensus 59.5)
Canada
None
U.K.
3:30 AM: July Purchasing Managers Services Index (Consensus 57.4)
European Union
3:00 AM: July Purchasing Managers Services Index (Consensus 58.1)
4:00 AM: June Retail Sales MoM (Consensus +0.8%)
Japan
None
