Investors had plenty of data to digest last week. Tech giant, Apple, saw its stock tumble after reporting lighter revenue due to slowing IPhone sales. New claims for jobless benefits dropped to a five year low, as claims fell to 330,000. Existing home sales dipped slightly in December, but rose 9 percent in 2012, its strongest performance in five years. In the week ahead, investors expect several economic reports.
We’ll get a read on the labor market with the January jobs report. In December the unemployment rate was unchanged at 7.8 percent, as 155,000 jobs were created. Health care and food services added the most jobs. African American unemployment rose to 14 percent, and black teen unemployment increased to 40.5 percent, remaining by far the highest of any group.
We’ll also gain further insight on the economy with the first estimate of fourth quarter G.D.P, which looks at all the goods and services produced from October-December. During the third quarter the economy grew by 3.1 percent, driven by consumer spending.
We will check on housing with the November case-shriller home price index report, which tracks price changes in twenty metro areas. In October home prices rose 4.3 percent compared to a year ago. Phoenix and Detroit posted the biggest gains while prices declined in Chicago and New York.
That’s your CNBC market look ahead for theGrio.com.