TheStreet's J.D. Durkin brings the latest business headlines from the floor of the New York Stock Exchange as markets close for trading Friday, November 10.
Full Video Transcript Below:
J.D. DURKIN: I'm J.D. Durkin, reporting from the New York Stock Exchange.
Stocks were in the green to close out today's session, rounding out a winning week on Wall Street. Markets are staging a comeback after Thursday ended an eight-day-long winning streak following comments on the fate of interest rate hikes from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell. The central bank suggested that inflation is still too high to put an end to rate hikes.
Investors will be paying close attention to the retail space next week with a number of big retail earnings and retail sales figures on Wednesday. Big names like Target, Walmart, and Kohl's are all set to release results. So far, close to 90 percent of companies in the S&P 500 have reported third-quarter results.
Turning now to the housing market - this week saw mortgage rates have their biggest one-week drop in about a year. It's the second straight week that rates have fallen - following seven consecutive weeks of increases.
According to a new survey from Freddie Mac, a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage fell to an average of 7.5 percent, a drop of 26 basis points. The dip led to a 2.5 percent uptick in mortgage applications compared to last week.
But despite the dropping rates, Freddie Mac's chief economist doesn't see the housing market budging much, saying, "Incoming data show that household debt continues to rise, primarily due to mortgage, credit card, and student loan balances. Many consumers are feeling strained by the high cost of living, so unless mortgage rates decrease significantly, the housing market will remain stagnant."
Mortgage rates have been above 7 percent since August.
That'll do it for your daily briefing. From the New York Stock Exchange, I'm J.D. Durkin with TheStreet.
