A red-hot housing market saved the day on Wall Street Thursday, helping stocks rebound several times throughout Thursday’s roller-coaster trading session.
The Dow rallied for only the second time this week. The S&P 500 and the Nasdaq were up modestly as well.
Thursday’s market swing can be seen in light of the myriad unknowns facing investors, says Kevin Mahn, chief investment officer at Hennion and Walsh.
“There’s so many uncertainties in the weeks and months ahead leading up to Election Day, not only with the results of the election itself, but about the pace and the timeline of the vaccine, will there be a new stimulus bill? Will we have a replacement for Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court? That’s a lot to grapple with him that could induce a lot of volatility.”
Dueling data helped fuel Thursday’s choppy session. New homes sales surged to a 14-year high in August. Record-low mortgages rates and the desire for single-family residences outside of urban city centers continued to fuel demand.
Signs that the housing sector is chugging along offset worries about rising joblessness. The number of Americans who filed for new unemployment assistance surprisingly jumped last week to 870,000. That’s still way above the peak seen during the financial crisis. All-in-all, as of early September, there were 26 million Americans getting an unemployment check.
Amazon is doubling-down on its personal security business. The company announced an indoor drone for recording security video inside the home. The so-called Ring Always Home Cam costs $249. Amazon bought smart doorbell and camera company ring in 2018. In addition, Amazon also has a new car alarm gadget that will let users play back video to make sure their car is safe. Shares of Amazon rallied as the announcements rolled out.
Video Transcript
– A red hot housing market saved the day on Wall Street Thursday, helping stocks rebound several times throughout Thursday’s roller coaster trading session. The Dow rallied for the second time this week. The S&P 500 and the NASDAQ were up modestly as well. Thursday’s market swing can be seen in light of the myriad unknowns facing investors, says Kevin Mahn, Chief Investment Officer at Hennion & Walsh.
KEVIN MAHN: There are so many uncertainties in the weeks and months ahead leading up to election day, not only with the results of the election itself, but about the pace and the timeline of the vaccine. Will there be a new stimulus bill? Will we have a replacement for Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court? That’s a lot to grapple with, and that can induce a lot of volatility.
– Dueling data helped fuel Thursday’s choppy session. New home sales surged to a 14-year high in August. Record low mortgage rates and the desire for single family residences outside of urban city centers continue to fuel demand. Signs that the housing sector is chugging along offset worries about rising joblessness. The number of Americans who filed for new unemployment assistance surprisingly jumped last week to 870,000. That’s still way above the peak seen during the financial crisis. All in all, as of early September, there were 26 million Americans getting an unemployment check.
Amazon is doubling down on its personal security business. The company announced an indoor drone for recording security video inside the home. The so-called Ring Always Home Cam cost $249. Amazon bought smart doorbell and camera company Ring in 2018. In addition, Amazon also has a new car alarm gadget that will allow users to remotely monitor their cars. Shares of Amazon rallied as the announcements rolled out.