On Tuesday this week when Janet Yellen, Federal Reserve Chair, testified before the US Congress, stock prices on the Wall Street market climbed. Today, however, as Yellen’s testimony was postponed due to a winter storm in the Washington DC region, stocks dove. http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/13/us-markets-stocks-idUSBREA080LL20140213
News of increased jobless claims http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm and slumping spending by consumers http://www.bls.gov/cex/ added downward pressure in the US stock market, so the winter storm cannot account for all of the bad news on Wall Street.
Some analysts call the current market sentiment a wintery mix. http://www.cit.com/perspectives/outlook-series/retail-outlook/index.htm?cmp=PaidSearch&gclid=CNntt9eoybwCFSYOOgodqxQARQ&jsf=688b9263-dc0d-4772-872c-457b7f2ea0ae:35584
Nonetheless Comcast and Time Warner sealed their deal to let Comcast buy out its cable competitor with a stock swap, betting that the two largest cable systems in the US will generate plenty of profits as 2014 unfolds. The current declines on Nasdaq, the DOW, and Wall Street portray low sentiments now, but overall market growth still bolsters some, as the Pepsi report of 5% gain illustrates.
To analysts at http://HamiltonFinanceServices.com the current market should be interpreted as a ‘consolidation’ for steady growth reports in the first and second quarters of 2014.
What do you think?