Posted on 09/03/2015 4:36:49 AM PDT by expat_panama
U.S. stock futures were comfortably in positive territory Thursday ahead of U.S. jobless claims data, as well as the latest policy decision from the European Central Bank.
The early move follows an upbeat session in Asia, where the volatile Chinese markets are closed for two days.
Futures for the Dow Jones Industrial Average YMU5, +0.24% climbed 67 points, or 0.4%, to 16,397, while those for the S&P 500 index ESU5, +0.20% added 7.15 points, or 0.4%, to 1,954.25. Futures for the Nasdaq 100 index NQU5, +0.21% gained 24 points, or 0.6%, to 4,284.
The indicated advances come after all three benchmarks closed Wednesday firmly higher, after the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book painted a more optimistic economic picture of the U.S. economy than analysts had feared. The report soothed worries about the possible impact of the slowdown in China, which has taken a toll on markets in recent weeks.
Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew said in a CNBC interview aired Thursday morning that he is keeping a “careful eye on market volatility” and looking at any related risk to the U.S. economy.
On Thursday, stock markets in the world’s second-largest economy were closed for China’s World War II victory day parade, providing “much desired respite from the economy and market that has been at the heart of the elevated global volatility of late,” said analysts at Accendo Markets in a note.
“Hopes [are] also rising that ECB President Draghi may signal QE extension,” they added.
The ECB is scheduled to announce its latest interest rate decision at 1:45 p.m. in Frankfurt, or 7:45 a.m. Eastern Time, with Mario Draghi’s news conference following at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. With a weaker inflation outlook and a stronger euro, speculation has risen that the central-bank boss will indicate the ECB is ready to pull the trigger...
(Excerpt) Read more at marketwatch.com ...
Do your dividend checks cash? Mine do. I was just wondering? I mean, the dollars that show up in my checking account ain’t imaginary.
You may be referring to your own private database but most folks in the U.S. use a standard measure that shows median household incomes are at an all time high. Of course there's inflation, and real median household incomes are no where near the all time high back in '99 although they've been coming back up slightly in the past couple years. If you agree that real wages are down in spite of their flat nominal levels then that's exactly what the Beige Book was saying.
expat_panama Doesn't matter if you and I like the numbers,
abb ...dividend checks... ...dollars that show up in my checking account ain’t imaginary...
No you're absolutely right about how even if stocks have gone nowhere for over a year, the dividends are way above anything a savings acct can offer. I was just saying that JohnG45 not liking the numbers doesn't matter much when it comes to how market prices are going.
Better, yes? It makes about as much sense. But then, the Fed doesn't have any rules....they make 'em up.
>> Better, yes?
No.
>> It makes about as much sense
Sorry, perverting a valid statement into a tautology that suits your agenda a) does not constitute truth and b) does not make sense.
Writing a declarative sentence that median household incomes are at an all time high with snark about my “private database” is exactly the sophistry the Fed engages in.
--and that's super easy to believe when we ignore what the Fed says and just read stuff from folks who don't like the Fed. That's why pundits get so much of their stuff published, it's the fact that most people prefer to have pundits telling 'em what to think becuase it saves them all that time, effort, and work doing their own thinking.
I can sure see why, I mean just look at that Beige book, it's all these pages of big words in little print with no pictures. I mean, most people here have already made up their minds anyway so there's really no advantage to bothering with what the Fed does when we can just pass along rumors that are far more sexy.
Hey, I sure regret my comments giving offense but please understand none was intended and don't knock private databases if you haven't tried 'em. Like, even the article I posted here refers to the proprietary "Institute for Supply Management" stat that we were chatting about a couple days ago here. Besides, you referred to "median wages" but since to the only public measure that I knew about was median household incomes --all time high but not the same..
the sophistry the Fed engages in
Off hand, you got a particular example in mind maybe?
On a Sunday?
Sunday night/Monday morning.
Probably starting with China.
The Chinese markets aren’t open on Sunday either.
—but our ‘Sunday’ happens on their ‘Monday’ (12 hr. time-zone diff).
Ain’t no markets crashin’ on Sunday.
A couple years ago the market would get all giddy with the fake results, but not so much anymore..
It's the media who continue to party with every BS release of data and then they criticize China for doing the same.
It's all about the Obama story....
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.