TheStreet's J.D. Durkin brings the latest business headlines from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as markets close for trading Thursday, October 19.
Full Video Transcript Below:
I’m J.D. Durkin - reporting from the New York Stock Exchange.
Stocks were down across the board to close out today’s trading session - with the Dow, Nasdaq, and S&P 500 all finishing the red.
Wall street is continuing to digest comments from Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell. He noted that inflation is still too high and that recent strong economic data could give way to higher interest rates. As of now, markets are pricing in a 99 percent chance that the central bank leaves interest rates unchanged when they meet in November.
Wall Street is also monitoring earnings season with over 15 percent of S&P 500 companies releasing results. Of those, 74 percent have beat Wall Street expectations.
Meanwhile, we’re following what is currently a frozen housing market in the U.S.. In September, historically low inventory and interest rates of more than 7 percent led home sales to drop to their lowest point since 2010, according to the National Association of Realtors. September home sales dropped 15.8 percent from this time a year ago.
Prices rose in all four regions of the country - while sales only increased in the northeast. The median price for an existing home in September was $394,300 - a 2.8 percent increase from a year ago - and it marked the third consecutive month of year-over-year price increases. First-time home buyers made up just 27 percent of the market, a significant drop from the average l range of 30 to 40 percent.
And it doesn’t seem like it’ll get much easier for prospective home buyers. Interest rates have since crossed the 8 percent threshold, meaning the freeze will likely continue to close out the year.
That’ll do it for your daily briefing. From the New York Stock Exchange, I’m J.D. Durkin with TheStreet.
