February Industrial Production increased 0.1% following 0.9% in January. December industrial production also jumped 0.7% concluding a three month moving average of 0.57%. The three month moving average gives a clearer picture of the trend. However the future seems to be mixed as other indexes showed that both February Philly Fed and the
Industrial production shows how much manufacturing, mining, electric and gas utilities are utilizing their resources. It is an important tool for forecasting future GDP as well as measuring inflation by central banks.
March Empire State Manufacturing Survey fell 22.86 from February’s 24.91 however it is above the consensus of 22.0. The manufacturing survey gives a detail look at
March Housing Index decreased to 15 from February’s 17 due to tighter credit, bad weather, and competition with other distressed properties. The housing index shows the demand for new homes and runs from 0 to 100.
Some stocks to watch within the housing sector include: Lowes and Home Depot. Lowes (LOW) was positively mentioned in Barrons as homeowners are resuming fix-up and repairs. Both Lowes (LOW) and Home Deport (HD) are currently hitting their 52 week highs of 25.01 and 32.50, respectively.
Tomorrow February Housing Starts will be announced in the morning providing data on new construction activity. Followed by the FOMC Announcement in the afternoon to give direction to the markets as well as interest rates.
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