• Wall Street saw mixed results on July 17, as the DJIA rose by +0.59%, the S&P 500 slipped by -1.39% and the Nasdaq closed down by -2.77%.
• The Dow Jones hit a new record high on Wednesday, while the Nasdaq dropped to a 2-week low, leading to a mixed close for stock indexes. The market struggled due to a decline in chip stocks and megacap tech companies, prompted by concerns over potential US restrictions on Chinese trade and semiconductor technology.
• The 10-yr UST yields closed down by -1.0 bps to 4.16%, while the 2-yr yields fell by -1.0 bps to 4.42%. Strong demand for the Treasury’s USD13 billion auction of 20-year T-bonds led to short covering in T-notes, with gains in T-notes increasing on Wednesday afternoon after the dovish Fed Beige Book release.
• US housing starts for June increased by +3.0% MoM to 1.353 million units, surpassing expectations. Meanwhile, building permits rose by +3.4% to 1.446 million units, indicating strong momentum in future construction activity.
• The US manufacturing production defied expectations in June, registering a stronger-than-anticipated increase of +0.4% MoM. This positive movement comes after forecasts of a +0.1% MoM rise.
• The average contract interest rate for conforming 30-year fixed mortgages fell 13 bps to 6.87% for the week ending July 12th, 2024. This follows a rate of 7.00% in the prior week.
• In Europe, UK inflation in June 2024 remained steady at 2%, marking the second consecutive month at this level and defying forecasts of a slight decrease to 1.9%.
• Global bond yields were mixed on Wednesday: the 10-yr German bund yield fell by -0.6 bps to 2.42%, the 10-yr UK gilt yield rose by +2.7 bps to 4.08%, and the Japanese 10-yr JGB yield closed up by +1.2 bps to 1.04%.
