US Housing Starts Decline, Building Permits Stabilize
$DIA, $SPY, $QQQ, $VXX
US home-building declined in December on a slowdown in the construction of single-family housing units following 2 months of strong gainers.
Housing starts decreased 8.2%to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.192-M units, the Commerce Department said on Thursday. November’s sales pace was revised up to 1.299-M units from the previously reported 1.297-M units.
Economists polled by Reuters had forecast housing starts decreasing to a pace of 1.275-M units last month.
December’s moderation in home-building is likely to be temporary due to strong demand for housing that is being driven by a strong labor market.
Builders continue to struggle with labor and land shortages as well as more expensive lumber.
A survey out Wednesday showed confidence among home-builders slipping from an 18-year high in January.
Builders expected a dip in buyer traffic and sales over the next 6 months.
Building permits edged down 0.1% to a rate of 1.302-M units in December. Building permits increased 4.7% to 1.263-M units in Y 2017, also the highest mark since Y 2007.
Single-family home permits advanced 1.8% in December, while permits for the construction of multi-family homes fell 3.9%.
Thursday, the major US stock market indexes finished at: DJIA-97.84 at 26017.81, NAS Comp -2.23 at 7296.04, S&P 500 -4.53at 2798.03
Volume: Trade on the NYSE came in at: 867-M/shares exchanged
- NAS Comp: +5.7% YTD
- DJIA: +5.3% YTD
- S&P 500: +4.7% YTD
- Russell 2000: +2.7% YTD
| HeffX-LTN Analysis for DIA: | Overall | Short | Intermediate | Long |
| Very Bullish (0.63) | Bullish (0.46) | Very Bullish (0.73) | Very Bullish (0.71) |
| HeffX-LTN Analysis for SPY: | Overall | Short | Intermediate | Long |
| Very Bullish (0.62) | Very Bullish (0.50) | Very Bullish (0.77) | Very Bullish (0.58) |
| HeffX-LTN Analysis for QQQ: | Overall | Short | Intermediate | Long |
| Bullish (0.48) | Bullish (0.40) | Very Bullish (0.65) | Bullish (0.40) |
| HeffX-LTN Analysis for VXX: | Overall | Short | Intermediate | Long |
| Bearish (-0.43) | Very Bearish (-0.52) | Bearish (-0.47) | Bearish (-0.29) |
Stay tuned…
US Housing Starts Decline, Building Permits Stabilize added by Paul Ebeling on
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Paul Ebeling
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