Good Evening. Here is everything you need to know about today’s recap on the in’s and out’s of the major market and economic events.
Stocks rose on Wednesday as investors digested another round of strong quarterly corporate earnings reports and anticipated more to come.
The Dow Jones ended the day up 0.86%, and the Nasdaq was up 2.08%. The S&P 500 finished the day up 1.45%.
HOUSING
Last week, mortgage application traffic fell, reversing gains from the previous week, as higher rates prevented home purchases and refinance.
The Mortgage Bankers Association’s weekly mortgage market composite index fell by 8.1% in the week ending February 4, after rising by 12.0% the week before. Refinances plummeted 7% week-over-week and were more than halved when compared to the same period a year ago. Purchases also fell 10% week-over-week, seasonally adjusted. Purchases were down 12% unadjusted from the same period last year.
In a press release issued Wednesday, Joel Kan, associate vice president of economic and industry forecasts, stated, “Mortgage rates continued to edge higher last week, with the 30-year fixed-rate climbing to 3.83%. Rates followed the U.S. 10-year yield and other sovereign bonds as the Federal Reserve and other key global central banks responded to growing inflationary pressures and signaled that they will start to remove accommodative policies.”
EARNINGS
After the bell on Wednesday, Disney (DIS) released first-quarter 2022 numbers that exceeded expectations. Following the news, stocks surged as much as 9% in after-hour trading.
Analysts’ expectations for new membership additions to the company’s two-year-old Disney+ streaming program were exceeded. The statistic was in the spotlight because a return to in-person activities had some worried about future growth for the direct-to-consumer television service, which benefited from the COVID-19 pandemic’s peak of stay-at-home orders.
Attendance at Disney’s lucrative parks and resorts increased as well, with revenue from the entertainment giant’s parks, experiences, and products division reaching $7.23 billion, up more than double from the previous year.