All three key U.S. indexes closed at record highs on Thursday. And it looks like they could keep rising today.
Here are 4 tips for today's trading. This will help you decide where you should invest and what to look for:
1. Stocks shine
1. Stocks shine
The Dow Jones industrial average, S&P 500 and Nasdaq each gained about half a percent to set new closing records. If you're keeping track, here's where they ended the day:
Dow: 18,613.52
S&P 500: 2,185.79
Nasdaq: 5,228.40
Now U.S. stock futures are indicating the markets could rise again Friday, though the moves could be small.
2. USD flat as Fed comments back 2016 rate hike
2. USD flat as Fed comments back 2016 rate hike
While market participants awaited the aforementioned measures of the American consumer, the dollar was mostly unchanged against major rivals on Friday.
San Francisco Fed president John Williams said in an interview with the Washington Post published on Thursday that the Fed should raise rates this year because of improving labor market conditions and the likelihood that inflation is heading higher.
The remarks helped the dollar tick higher on Thursday as financial markets once again increased the odds that the Fed will increase rates. Fed fund futures discounted a 51.9% chance of tightening for the December meeting as of close of trade on Thursday, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.
3. Economics
3. Economics
U.S. retail sales figures for July are being posted at 8:30 a.m. ET by the federal Census Bureau. Consumer spending has been growing since April.
The University of Michigan is releasing its initial consumer sentiment report for August. There was a dip in sentiment in July following the U.K.'s Brexit vote.
Speaking of Europe, Germany and Italy reported second quarter GDP figures on Friday. Germany's economy grew 0.4% compared to the first quarter of 2016, though Italy stagnated and didn't report any growth in the period.
4. China data underlines slowdown with IMF report ahead
4. China data underlines slowdown with IMF report ahead
China’s industrial production, retail sales and fixed asset investment for July all came in with weaker readings that missed consensus on Friday, indicating a weak start to the third quarter for the world’s second largest economy.
Despite the slowdown, investors appeared to hope that the weak readings would spur policy easing.
The data came ahead of the International Monetary Fund’s (IMF) assessment of the Chinese economy, scheduled for release at 13:00GMT.
