Four Reasons Last Week was Better than it Seemed for Markets

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What’s in Today’s Report:

  • Four Reasons Last Week was Better than it Seemed for Markets
  • Weekly Market Preview: Is the Consumer Holding Up and How Hawkish Is the Fed?
  • Weekly Economic Cheat Sheet: FOMC Minutes (Wed) and First Look at August Data

Futures are slightly higher following a mostly quiet weekend of news.

Chinese economic data was soft as Industrial Production (4.5% vs. (E) 5.0%), Retail Sales (0.6% vs. (E) 1.5%) and Fixed Asset Investment (-6.7% vs. (E) -6.1%) all missed estimates.

Geopolitically, there was no progress on U.S./Iran ceasefire talks but, positively, any military escalation still remains unlikely.

Today focus will be on the economy as we get the first look at August data via the Empire Manufacturing Index (10.60) and the best case for markets is for a Goldilocks number of solid growth (so at or slightly above expectations) and, almost as importantly, a continued decline in the price indices (which shows inflation pressures are continuing to recede in August).  The other notable economic report is the Housing Market Index (E: 33) but that shouldn’t move markets.

 

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