Lots of news with little movement. On Monday the Existing Homes for May fell 1.8% year over year, mostly due to tight inventory. The markets were quiet on that news, and because all eyes were on the Fed meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday, almost every investor had hit the pause button.
On Wednesday, investors were relieved that the Fed post meeting announcement was as expected. They also said that they intend to start divesting themselves of the debt on their balance sheet “soon,” but no specific date. New Home sales numbers came in 0.8% for June instead of slightly down in May.
Thursday the weekly jobless claims were up 10k to 244k, and the durable goods orders minus transport came in up by 0.2%
Friday we got Q2 GDP (Gross domestic product) of 2.6%, slightly lower than the 2.8% that was predicted. The Q2 employment cost index was up by 0.5%, versus 0.6% the previous quarter.
All these could be signs of inflation and push interest rates higher, but they were in line with expectations and no “rocking of the boat” by the Fed, so interest rates remain calm.