Once again, the United States took markets by surprise last week, when Friday's job numbers showed 295,000 new positions in February instead of the consensus of 240,000, driving unemployment rate down to 5.5% (vs. a projected 5.6%). Stock markets appeared unimpressed with the news however, with losses of 1.54%, 1.42% and 1.11% on the DJIA, S&P 500 and the NASDAQ respectively.
Over the past 12 months, close to 266,000 jobs have been created on a monthly average in the United States.Just when we thought things were getting better for Greece, it appears that there may be another fly in the ointment, with Athens and eurozone officials struggling to reach an agreement for the 240-billion euro assistance program. The single currency is trading at its lowest level in the past 12 years.
On the agenda, Canadian Housing Starts will be announced this morning. In Europe, the quantitative easing (bond buyback) program announced last week begins today. Have a great week!
Rana Karim
Range of the day: 1.2530 - 1.2610