Market Outlook August 23rd - August 27th

- WALL STREET:
US Indices closed mixed last week, with the Nasdaq 100 gaining limited ground while the Dow Jones and the S&P 500 eased -0.87% and -0.7% respectively. On the economic front, Weekly Jobless Claims rose to 500 000: their highest level since November 2009 and Philadelphia Fed Index unexpectedly turned negative (-7.7) for the first time since July 2009. However, July Housing Starts rose to 546k (560k expected) from 537k and July Industrial Production rose 1% against 0.5% expected (and a 0.1% decline in June). As regard to sectors, Energy stocks declined 2.5% on Crude Oil prices extending their fall and currently trading $10 lower from this month high. Banks, Health Care & Diversified Financials eased more than 1.5% on rising uncertainty about the economic recovery strength. Retail, Consumer Services & Technology stocks gained ground on M&A activity & major companies good results (Wall-Mart, Target, Home Depot, Lowes, Applied Materials, and Dell). From a technical point of ...