New home sales plummet to 6-month low amid high mortgage rates
New home sales hit a six-month low as high mortgage rates continued to weigh on buyers.
New home sales hit a six-month low as high mortgage rates continued to weigh on buyers.
The AI chip making giant’s pullback from a correction helped boost tech funds, major indexes on Tuesday.
On today's episode of Wealth!, Host Brad Smith breaks down some of the key themes impacting the markets (^DJI, ^IXIC, ^GSPC), from a struggling housing sector to record travel July 4th weekend. New home sales for the month of May fell over 11%, according to the US Census Bureau. KPMG senior economist Yelena Maleyev claims that it will be a while before the housing sector sees relief, only estimating one interest rate cut from the Federal Reserve by December: "We've pushed that forecast out into December, so we do expect one rate cut in December, which will help bring overall mortgage rates to perhaps around 6.5 by the end of the year. That's probably not what people who are waiting for those 3% mortgage rates are wanting to hear, but unfortunately, those days are behind us." She adds that a few more rate cuts in the pipeline could bring mortgage rates to 5.5%. US equity markets have hit record highs in 2024, largely spearheaded by the growth of semiconductor and chip stocks like Nvidia (NVDA). BlackRock US Head of Thematic and Active ETFs Jay Jacobs sits down with Brad Smith on Wealth! as part of Yahoo Finance's ETF Report to discuss several of BlackRock's notable iShares ETFs in relation to the growing AI landscape and the energy and digital infrastructure demands that come with mass adoption. The number of US households with direct stock ownership increased by 6% between 2019 and 2022, according to a Federal Reserve study of consumer finances. JPMorgan Wealth Management head of self-directed investing Andrea Finan says her biggest tip for beginner investors is to "find the experts ... Go to credentialized places to get information and learn. I really strive for people to become curious in investing and learn and use the tools..." Finally, as more than 24 million people are expected to fly out of US airports during the 4th of July weekend, Hopper Lead Economist Hayley Berg gives an overview of thee busy weekend ahead. She explains that summer travel prices have decreased, as airfares are down 18% in the US and hotel and rental car prices remain in line with previous years: "So those travelers who are getting away are definitely able to expand those travel budgets into things like activities and maybe some nice dinners out rather than spending as much on accommodations and flights." This post was written by Melanie Riehl
- The EUR/USD has dropped significantly in recent weeks, particularly affected by the shock of the dissolution of the National Assembly in France and the resulting...
- The U.S. dollar rose Wednesday, boosted by hawkish comments from Fed officials, while slipping consumer confidence weighed on the euro. At 03:35 ET (08:35 GMT), the...
Find out which funds give you the most exposure to the AI chip king.
-- Most Asian currencies weakened on Wednesday as anticipation of key U.S. inflation data saw traders largely favor the dollar, with the Japanese yen coming close to...
According to Odaily, insiders involved in the pilot project have reported a significant decrease in the usage of India's Central Bank Digital Currency (CBDC), the digital Rupee. The usage has dropped to one-tenth of its peak in December 2023. Initially, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) managed to achieve one million daily retail transactions with the digital Rupee by incentivizing banks and allocating part of the wages in digital currency. However, once these incentives ended, the daily transaction volume fell to approximately 100,000, indicating a lack of organic demand. The central bank is currently focusing on testing technology and developing use cases, with no immediate plans for rapid expansion.
-- Australian consumer price index inflation grew more than expected in May amid heady housing and food costs, with the data brewing more concerns that the Reserve...
In a new note, Deutsche Bank points out the upward spike in call option volumes for US mega-cap growth and tech stocks, and how they have exploded in recent weeks. Yahoo Finance's Julie Hyman breaks down the net call volume in Deutsche Bank's latest chart, weighed against the rest of the S&P 500 (^GSPC). For more expert insight and the latest market action, click here to watch this full episode of Asking for a Trend. This post was written by Nicholas Jacobino