Stock Market Update

The S&P 500 futures are up 10 points and are trading 0.3% above fair value, the Nasdaq 100 futures are up 53 points and are trading 0.5% above fair value, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average futures are down 39 points and are trading slightly below fair value.

Housing starts declined 5.5% month-over-month in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.277 million (Briefing.com consensus 1.385 million) with single-unit starts down 5.2%. That is the lowest rate since June 2020. Building permits -- a leading indicator -- declined 3.8% month-over-month to 1.386 million (Briefing.com consensus 1.455 million) with single-unit permits down 2.9%. That is the lowest rate since June 2020.

The key takeaway from the report is that it suggests the housing market will remain subject to inventory constraints that will create affordability pressures, barring a stronger pickup in listings of existing homes for sale that has been tough to come by with mortgage rates remaining high.

Initial jobless claims for the week ending June 15 decreased by 5,000 to 238,000 (Briefing.com consensus 237,000. Continuing jobless claims for the week ending June 8 increased by 15,000 to 1.828 million.

The key takeaway from the report is that jobless claims have moved up a notch from lower levels to connote some softening in the labor market.

The June Philadelphia Fed Index decreased to 1.3 (Briefing.com consensus 6.5) from 4.5 in May. A reading above 0.0 is indicative of expansion, but the lower reading versus May reflects a deceleration in the pace of expansion.

The key takeaway from the report is that the indexes for new orders, shipments, and employment all remained negative while the prices paid component increased from 18.7 to 22.5.

The Q1 Current Account Balance widened to -$237.6 billion (Briefing.com consensus -$203.0 billion) from a downwardly revised $221.8 billion (from -$194.8 billion).

The key takeaway from the report is that the widening in the deficit mostly reflected an expanded deficit on goods.