STOCK MARKET REPORT......Stocks jumped Friday after the latest nonfarm payrolls data came in better than expected, easing concern the economy faces an imminent slowdown.
The market’s move higher was supported by a more than 3% gain in Tesla. Shares of the electric vehicle maker weighed on the market Thursday, tumbling 14%, as CEO Elon Musk sparred with President Donald Trump on social media. Other major tech-related names such as Nvidia, Meta Platforms and Apple also ended the session higher.
U.S. payrolls climbed 139,000 in May, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday, above the Dow Jones forecast of 125,000 for the month but less than the downwardly revised 147,000 in April. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.2%.
A series of data released earlier this week signaled a possible economic slowdown, raising questions about the impact of the multi-front tariff negotiations and the next steps for the Federal Reserve, which next meets to set interest rate policy on June 17-18.
The S&P 500 ended the session more than 2% below its February high. The broad market index, along with the other two major benchmarks, also posted notable gains for the week. The S&P 500 was up 1.5% on the week, and the Dow posted a 1.2% advance. The Nasdaq jumped 2.2% over the period.(CNBC).
ON TODAY’S DATE IN:
793 Vikings in long ships from modern-day Norway plunder St Cuthbert's monastery on Lindisfarne Island, off the northeast coast of England capturing and killing monks
1493 Holy Roman Emperor Frederick III's left leg is amputated at his court in Linz, the most famous record of surgery in the Middle Ages - he survives until August 19
1647 England parliament bans Christmas, Easter and Whitsun festivities, services and celebrations, including in the home, with fines for non-compliance - proves unpopular
1786 Commercially made ice cream 1st advertised (Mr Hall in NYC)
1789 James Madison introduces a proposed Bill of Rights in the US House of Representatives
1824 Washing machine patented by Noah Cushing of Quebec
1861 American Civil War: Tennessee votes to secede from the Union
1914 34.7°F (1.5°C) in De Bilt, Netherlands
1915 92°F (33.3°C) in De Bilt, Netherlands
1937 "Carmina Burana", the first work of Carl Orff's Trionfi cantata trilogy, premieres at the Oper Frankfurt in Frankfurt, Germany
1949 Secker & Warburg publishes George Orwell's seminal novel "Nineteen Eighty-Four", set in the totalitarian state of Oceania
1949 Siam changes name to Thailand
1968 James Earl Ray, alleged assassin of Martin Luther King Jr., captured
1970 MLB players union and management end labor dispute, raising minimum salary to $12,000
1984 "Ghostbusters", American supernatural comedy film, directed and produced by Ivan Reitman, starring Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, and Ernie Hudson premieres
1988 Nippon Airways announces that painting eyeballs on Jets cut bird collisions by 20%
1991 Victory parade following success in the Gulf War is held in Washington, D.C.
1996 Revival of the legendary procession of Lady Godiva (Godgifu) naked through Coventry, England
2020 World Bank says the COVID-19 pandemic will shrink the global economy by 5.2% in 2020
2021 National Geographic announces it is officially recognizing the Southern Ocean as the world's fifth ocean (OnThisDay)
REAL ESTATE RELATED NEWS…… After several years of deep distress, the beleaguered U.S. office market has reached an inflection point. This year, office conversions and demolitions will exceed new construction for the first time in at least 25 years.
CBRE found that across the largest 58 U.S. markets, 23.3 million square feet of space is slated for demolition or conversion to other uses by the end of this year. In comparison, developers are projected to complete construction of 12.7 million square feet of office space in those same markets.
All of this is being driven by the fundamental shift in office attendance, resulting from the growing remote-work culture since the start of the pandemic. Office vacancies soared to a record high and still hover right around there at 19%.
But the market is starting to recover. More employers are ordering staff back to the office full-time, and, as the job market tightens, more employees are willing to take what they can get, even if it means more in-person attendance.
Since 2016, office conversions to multifamily residences have generated roughly 33,000 apartments and condominiums, according to CBRE, given that each conversion, on average historically, yields about 170 units. There are about 43,500 units in the pipeline from conversions already underway. (CNBC)
MORTGAGE RELATED NEWS…… Mortgage rates fell slightly last week, but that did nothing to spur mortgage demand. Total mortgage application volume dropped 3.9% last week compared with the previous week, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s seasonally adjusted index.
The average contract interest rate for 30-year fixed-rate mortgages with conforming loan balances, $806,500 or less, decreased to 6.92% from 6.98%, with points falling to 0.66 from 0.67, including the origination fee, for loans with a 20% down payment. Rates have really moved in a very narrow range for the last two months.
Applications for a mortgage to purchase a home fell 4% for the week, but were 18% higher than the same week one year ago. The spring season has been sluggish to say the least, with closed sales still coming in lower than last year, despite mortgage demand now being higher. The main driver of increased purchase demand is simply more supply on the market. Given how much more there is, however, the highest level in five years, sales should be even stronger. (CNBC)