每日市場點評 --- July 24, 2008

The market ended this Thursday sharply lower amid renewed concerns over the housing market. By close, all three major indices lost 2% or more. The news on the economic front was not pretty today. Start with the weekly jobless claims. For the week ending July 19, the advance figure for initial claims was 406K, an increase of 34K from the previous week’s revised figure of 372K. Economists, on the other hand, were looking for a much tamer rise. The advance figure for continuing claims was 3.107 million vs. 3.116 million in the previous week. Move on to the existing home sales. The actual figure came at 4.86 million, down from the previous reading of 4.99 million and also below the consensus forecast of 4.94 million. The 4.86 million annualized sales were the lowest in over a decade. In addition, the inventory of unsold homes jumped to 11.1 months’ worth of supply compared to 10.8 in the previous month. The median home price dropped 6.1% from a year ago. Today’s worst than expected existing home sales reading reminded investors that the housing sector is yet to be bottomed. A rebound in crude price also contributed to the negative sentiment.

Financials were among the biggest losers for the session. The beaten-down sector has rallied over 30% since the lows reached last Tuesday so it was not surprising that some investors chose to take profits. Healthcares and consumer staples were among the sectors that performed relatively well. The CRB commodity index didn’t benefit from a rebound in gold and oil price and ended the session slightly lower. The US dollar was mixed against most major currencies while treasuries rallied due to flight to quality. The VIX index jumped 2 points. However, it was nowhere near the level it reached early last week. The market breath was decisively negative on both NYSE and Nasdaq.