Q4 GDP Falls, Pending Home Sales In Focus

Pre-market futures are mixed this morning, following a down day in U.S. indexes yesterday, including a 300-point drop on the Dow (which came after a 400-point bid in the Dow Monday; need any Dramamine?). The Dow looks up again this morning while the Nasdaq and S&P 500 down marginally.

We look for economic reads on both Chicago PMI and Pending Home Sales soon after today’s opening bell, but the main data point ahead of the open is the 2nd revision to Q4 GDP: 2.5%, down a tenth from the first look, which was the first time in three quarters we hadn’t seen a 3-handle on GDP numbers. Not that this is too big a deal: analysts had been expecting a 2.5% read this morning, and they got it.

Consumption, which was expected to have receded a bit from the first look, stayed consistent at 3.8%. The Price Index of 2.3% was a tick cooler than the initial read, whereas Personal Consumption Expenditures at 1.9% were also steady with the previous figure. For those who may be disappointed to see a pullback in the headline number — or anything under 3% — should remember we are operating in an $18 trillion economy; substantial growth quarter over quarter is never an easy thing to come by.

Though this lukewarm read may cause some market participants to look the Fed’s way, don’t expect new Chair Jay Powell & Co. NOT to raise rates another quarter percent next month — it’s a virtual certainty they wil. We also see strong belief from economists and analysts that we will see another move in June and perhaps another in September (data permitting, of course). Some are modeling a 4th increase for perhaps December or next January, but there is a lot of pig that needs to go through the python before we see that become a reality.

Dicks Pulls Rifles

Specialty retailer Dicks Sporting Goods (NYSE:DKS) , while careful to assert its board members are staunch supporters of the 2nd Amendment, have decided to remove their “modern sporting rifles,” sometimes known as “assault rifles,” from its stores. The company also determined a customer must be 21 years of age before purchasing a firearm from one of its stores.

The recent high school massacre at Parkland, FL two weeks ago was clearly an impetus for this decision. Following the elementary school mass homicide at Sandy Hook in Newtown, CT five years ago, Dicks removed its AR-15 and similarly styled rifles from its stores, though brought them back to its Field & Stream outlets months later. CEO Ed Stack was clear that today’s decision is a permanent one. “Gun violence is taking too many lives,” said Stack. DKS shares are up a point and a half in pre-market trading at this hour.