T-bills govt. auction analysis
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Bette...06167.html?sec=topStories&pos=3&asset=&ccode=
Investors welcomed
- a drop in jobless claims,
- growth in retail sales
- and better-than-expected demand at a government debt auction.
But traders also seemed mindful of how far the market has come in its three-month rally.
The stock market has at times run low on fresh evidence of economic recovery that could push the rally further. The data out Thursday helped but weren't enough to keep the pace of buying strong through the end of trading.
The Labor Department reported that the number of newly laid-off Americans filing for jobless benefits fell last week by 24,000 to 601,000, better than economists forecast. However the number of unemployed continuing to file for claims rose to 6.8 million, the highest on records dating to 1967.
Meanwhile, the Commerce Department said retail sales rose 0.5 percent in May, interrupting two months of decreases and marking the largest gain since January. Investors watch those numbers because consumer spending accounts for more than two-thirds of U.S. economic activity.
Doug Lockwood, chief investment officer at Cornerstone Wealth Management, said the improvements in sales is a strong signal that the recession may be easing. Hope of a recovery has pushed the S&P 500 index up 39.7 percent from a 12-year low on March 9.
"There has been a lot of rallying and rebounding going on, but we have to continue to see improvements," Lockwood said.
Stocks rose to their highest levels of the day in afternoon trading when the Treasury Department said an auction for 30-year Treasury bonds attracted strong demand. That allowed investors to set aside some of their worries about higher interest rates. Stocks lost ground Wednesday following a relatively weak auction for 10-year notes.
Investors have been uneasy in the past two months about demand for government debt. If Washington has to raise rates to attract buyers, that could hurt the economy by boosting borrowing costs.
The market's losses Wednesday came after the government had to entice investors with a higher yield for 10-year notes than traders had anticipated. The yield on the 10-year note is closely linked to interest rates on home mortgages and other kinds of loans.
"The bond market is a potential risk to the stock market if yields continue to move higher," said Dean Curnutt, president of Macro Risk Advisors. "A further rise in yields threatens to choke off a recovery."