MARKET WATCH: NOVEMBER 16, 2020

Stock Market Indexes

Chart reflects price changes, not total return. Because it does not include dividends or splits, it should not be used to benchmark performance of specific investments.

Last Week’s Economic News

• The Consumer Price Index was unchanged in October after advancing 0.2% in September. Over the past 12 months, the CPI has increased 1.2%. Within the index, food (0.2%), energy (0.1%), and shelter (0.1%) inched up. Offsetting those gains were declines in used cars and trucks (-0.1%), apparel (-1.2%), medical care commodities (-0.8%), and medical care services (-0.3%).

• Prices at the producer level advanced 0.3% in October after climbing 0.4% in September. For the last 12 months ended in October, producer prices are up 0.5%, the largest advance since moving up 1.1% for the 12 months ended in February. However, when excluding food and energy, producer prices are up 1.1% year over year. In October, nearly 60% of the rise in producer prices can be traced to a 0.5% increase in prices for goods. The prices for services moved up 0.2%. Food prices vaulted 2.4% last month, and energy prices increased 0.8%. Trade services rose 0.2%, while transportation and warehousing services advanced 1.1%.

• October, the first month of the federal government’s fiscal year 2021, saw a deficit of $284.1 billion. By comparison, the deficit in October 2019, at $134.5 billion, was 111% lower. Government receipts for the month totaled $237.7 billion, or 3% lower than receipts this time last year. Government outlays were $521.8 billion, 37% greater than last October.

• According to the Job Openings and Labor Turnover report for September, the number of job openings increased by 84,000, the number of hires decreased by 81,000, and the number of total separations fell by 25,000. The job openings rate was unchanged at 4.3%. The number of job openings decreased over the year to 6.6 million (-566,000), reflecting the continued impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the labor market. Over the 12 months ended in September, hires totaled 70.4 million and separations totaled 76.4 million, yielding a net employment loss of 6.0 million.

• For the week ended November 7, there were 709,000 new claims for unemployment insurance, a decrease of 48,000 from the previous week’s level, which was revised up by 6,000. According to the Department of Labor, the advance rate for insured unemployment claims was 4.6% for the week ended October 31, a decrease of 0.3 percentage point from the prior week’s rate. For comparison, during the same period last year, there were 222,000 initial claims for unemployment insurance, and the insured unemployment claims rate was 1.2%. The advance number of those receiving unemployment insurance benefits during the week ended October 31 was 6,786,000, a decrease of 436,000 from the prior week’s level, which was revised down by 63,000. The highest insured unemployment rates in the week ended October 24 were in Hawaii (9.9%), California (8.9%), New Mexico (8.5%), and Nevada (8.2%). The largest increases in initial claims for the week ended October 31 were in Illinois (+20,377), Kentucky (+3,868), Pennsylvania (+3,768), Ohio (+3,766), and Kansas (+2,711), while the largest decreases were in Massachusetts (-8,470), Georgia (-6,442), New York (-5,883), Michigan (-3,067), and New Jersey (-2,500).

Eye on the Week Ahead

Housing, retail, and industrial production are economic sectors in the news this week. October reports on housing starts and existing home sales are expected to reveal continued strength in the housing sector. Industrial production scaled back a bit in September following a robust August. October’s figures should show continued growth, but at a slower pace. The October retail sales report is out this week. Sales at the retail level advanced nearly 2.0% in September and could continue to climb as more businesses reopen following pandemic-related shutdowns.

Data sources: Economic: Based on data from U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (unemployment, inflation); U.S. Department of Commerce (GDP, corporate profits, retail sales, housing); S&P/Case-Shiller 20-City Composite Index (home prices); Institute for Supply Management (manufacturing/services). Performance: Based on data reported in WSJ Market Data Center (indexes); U.S. Treasury (Treasury yields); U.S. Energy Information Administration/Bloomberg.com Market Data (oil spot price, WTI, Cushing, OK); www.goldprice.org (spot gold/silver); Oanda/FX Street (currency exchange rates). News items are based on reports from multiple commonly available international news sources (i.e., wire services) and are independently verified when necessary with secondary sources such as government agencies, corporate press releases, or trade organizations. All information is based on sources deemed reliable, but no warranty or guarantee is made as to its accuracy or completeness. Neither the information nor any opinion expressed herein constitutes a solicitation for the purchase or sale of any securities, and should not be relied on as financial advice. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. All investing involves risk, including the potential loss of principal, and there can be no guarantee that any investing strategy will be successful.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) is a price-weighted index composed of 30 widely traded blue-chip U.S. common stocks. The S&P 500 is a market-cap weighted index composed of the common stocks of 500 largest, publicly traded companies in leading industries of the U.S. economy. The NASDAQ Composite Index is a market-value weighted index of all common stocks listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange. The Russell 2000 is a market-cap weighted index composed of 2,000 U.S. small-cap common stocks. The Global Dow is an equally weighted index of 150 widely traded blue-chip common stocks worldwide. The U.S. Dollar Index is a geometrically weighted index of the value of the U.S. dollar relative to six foreign currencies. Market indices listed are unmanaged and are not available for direct investment.