Stocks are slightly lower Thursday after a 2nd losing day for markets. All 3 major averages were down at least 0.5% yesterday after traders assessed the release of the latest FOMC minutes. The minutes showed that the Fed believes that additional tightening could be needed.
For economic data today, initial jobless claims fell to 239,000, just below expectations of 240,000. Initial claims were at 250,000 last week. Continuing claims were higher at 1.72 million.
Treasury yields are steeper, with the 2-year T yield up 0.5 basis points to 4.98%, the 5-year T yield up 5.0 basis points to 4.46%, and the 10-year T yield up 6.2 basis points to 4.32%, the highest level since November 2007! Increasing yields reflect an increasing chance of a hike at the next Fed meeting, even though that chance is only 13.5% per the CME FedWatch Tool.
Lastly, the Games N Gains twitch stream is tonight, but it will start later than normal on account of a work event I have this evening.
Link is below.