EQUITY MARKETS

US

S&P500 -1.44%(2,343.98); NASDAQ -1.22% (5,828.74); DJIA -1.52% (20,596.72)

This week’s reports:

March’s Markit Manufacturing PMI (prelim.) fell to 53.4 from February’s 54.2. Markit PMI Composite (prelim.) fell to 53.2 from February’s 54.1. Markit Services PMI (prelim.) fell to 52.9 from February’s 53.8.
February’s New Home Sales rose to an annual pace of 0.592M from January’s pace of 0.558M. Existing Home Sales fell to an annual pace of 5.48M from January’s pace of 5.69M.
February’s Durable Goods Orders rose by 1.7% from January’s upwardly revised +2.3%. Durable Goods Orders ex Transportation rose by 0.4% from January’s upwardly revised +0.2%.
Initial Jobless Claims for the week ending March 17th rose by 18K to +258K. Continuing Jobless Claims for the week ending March 10th fell by 39K to 2,000K.

US stocks fell the most since the week leading up to the US election as President Donald Trump suffered a major setback when he was forced to pull his health-care bill from a vote amid dissent among congressional Republicans.
The S&P 500 Index capped its worst week since the election as political wrangling in Washington dominated sentiment.