Wednesday's Markets Update (May 17, 2023)

17 May 2023 by rate3

On Wednesday, stocks edged higher on technicals, disregarding the Census Bureau permits report. NASDAQ (o: 12388, c: 12500) added one percent, while BTC (o: 26669, c: 27385) followed with a 2.3% increase.

Building permits in the US dropped by 1.5% to 1.416M in April. This is the second month of decline, falling short of the expected 1.437M permits. Reasons include higher interest rates and rising consumer prices. Permits decreased in the Northeast (-23.6%) and Midwest (-15.2%), but rose in the South (4.3%) and West (3.8%).

Other Markets Updates:

South Africa: Country's retail trade fell 1.6% YoY in March - the fourth consecutive month of declines - following a 0.7% drop in April and missing estimates of a 0.7% decrease. The power crisis impacted food, beverage, and tobacco retailers (-6.6%). However, textiles, clothing and footwear goods saw a grow (6.3%).