Who Was The Big Buyer In Treasuries Today?
Today’s economic data was
mixed and didn’t really affect the markets.
The initial first-quarter GDP number came in at
1.6%–slightly lower than the 1.8% to 2% consensus estimate–but the market has,
for the most part, been ignoring pre-Iraq data. Consumer confidence on the other
hand, rose to 86 from March’s 77.6. And new home sales surged by 7.3% while
existing home sales fell 5.6%.
But
investors were more focused on a worst-case SARS scenario and some negative investment recommendations by some of the
major banks.
Equities
Stocks were down today, led by the semiconductors which were downgraded by SSB; RJR Tobacco’s downward guidance and UBS
Warburg’s negative comments on car companies. But this recent pullback is
justified as a result of the short-term overbought nature of the markets. The S&P contract
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down 11.20 to finish at 898.60,
and the Dow
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finish at 8260. As expected, the tech heavy Nasdaq
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down, finishing by 22.50 to close at 1085.50.
Fixed Income
Again the Treasury markets were pushed higher in
overnight trading due to central bank buying. Then weaker US equities helped
these instruments higher to close near the upper end of their recent trading
ranges. The 10 year futures contract
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the 30 year
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Metals
Industrial metals were flat today, as copper was
flat 71.55
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at 333., and silver
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Energy
The petroleum market ended mostly lower on the
day, as crude fell to a five-month low, dropping for the third week in four. The
markets are now questioning the ability of OPEC to tighten production
sufficiently to offset the glut. June crude
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26.09. Natural gas
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Currencies
The US dollar was mixed across the board today.
The yen weakened considerably against the dollar amid a much lower Nikkei and a
deteriorating economic picture. And the dollar finished flat against the euro,
after giving up its gains due to a weaker equity market. The USD index
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up .06 and
finished at 98.62 on the day.