FINWIRES · TerminalLIVE
FINWIRES

April Housing Starts Fall Less Than Expected Amid Multi-Family Strength

By
April Housing Starts Fall Less Than Expected Amid Multi-Family Strength

US housing starts decreased less than estimated in April amid a jump in multi-family projects, while the single-unit component declined, government data showed Thursday.

Starts fell 2.8% sequentially to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 1.47 million units last month, according to the Census Bureau and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. The consensus was for a bigger 5.3% drop in a survey compiled by Bloomberg.

"While the March and April starts data lend upside risk to our forecast for starts to remain below 1.4 (million) this year, we would be surprised if the April pace of starts is repeated in May," Oxford Economics Lead US Economist Nancy Vanden Houten said in remarks e-mailed to.

Starts on buildings with at least five units jumped 14% month on month to 529,000 units in April. The single-unit component decreased 9% to 930,000 units.

Among main regions, the Northeast logged the biggest gain of 16% in consolidated starts, while the West and Midwest were up 5% and 2.5%, respectively. Starts fell 11% in the South, according to government data.

Building permits -- which is a forward-looking indicator of homebuilding -- jumped 5.8% to 1.44 million units last month, while Wall Street expected a smaller 2.5% gain. Authorizations of buildings with five or more units surged 23%, while single-family unit permits declined 2.6%, official data showed.

"For housing starts to improve on any kind of sustained basis, homebuilders will need to work down their existing inventory of completed homes for sale," Vanden Houten said. "Mortgage rates have risen back to the levels of late March, and that should provide a headwind to new home sales in the months immediately ahead."

On Monday, data from the National Association of Home Builders and Wells Fargo showed that US homebuilder confidence unexpectedly rose in May despite elevated mortgage rates, macro uncertainty and continued affordability challenges.

Related Articles

Nvidia First-Quarter Revenue Tops Estimates Amid Data Center Strength
US Markets

Nvidia First-Quarter Revenue Tops Estimates Amid Data Center Strength

Nvidia (NVDA) reported fiscal first-quarter revenue above Wall Street's estimates as data center sales outperformed expectations amid an artificial intelligence boom.The technology bellwether's revenue climbed 85% annually to $81.62 billion, exceeding the consensus on FactSet indicating $78.91 billion. Adjusted per-share earnings increased to $1.87 in the three months ended April 26 from $0.78 a year earlier.Data center revenue jumped 92% to a record $75.25 billion, driven by the ramp of Blackwell 300 products and demand for the InfiniBand, Spectrum-X Ethernet and NVLink solutions, Chief Financial Officer Colette Kress said in remarks published on the company's website late Wednesday.Consensus estimates pointed to $73.13 billion in data center sales."The buildout of AI factories -- the largest infrastructure expansion in human history -- is accelerating at extraordinary speed," Chief Executive Jensen Huang said in a statement. "Agentic AI has arrived, doing productive work, generating real value and scaling rapidly across companies and industries. Nvidia is uniquely positioned at the center of this transformation."Nvidia said it consolidated its reportable market platforms into two from five previously. The data center segment will cover hyperscale and AI clouds, industrial and enterprise, while the edge computing platform includes PCs, game consoles, robotics and automotive.For the current quarter, Nvidia expects consolidated revenue of $91 billion, plus or minus 2%. The consensus indicates $87.29 billion.RBC Capital Markets and Wedbush Securities expected the leading supplier of AI silicon to report a strong first quarter and guide above consensus.The company said it boosted its quarterly dividend to $0.25 per share from $0.01, payable on June 26 to shareholders as of June 4.Nvidia's board approved an additional $80 billion share repurchase authorization.The chipmaker's stock fell 0.9% in after-hours trading, and are up nearly 20% this year through Wednesday close.

$NVDA
Equity Markets Rebound Following Fed Minutes; Yields Tumble
US Markets

Equity Markets Rebound Following Fed Minutes; Yields Tumble

US stocks rebounded Wednesday as traders parsed minutes of the Federal Reserve's latest monetary policy meeting, while Treasury yields slid.The Nasdaq Composite rose 1.5% to 26,270.4, while the S&P 500 advanced 1.1% to 7,433, both rising after a three-day fall. The Dow Jones Industrial Average added 1.3% to 50,009.4. Most sectors ended in the green, led by consumer discretionary, while energy saw the biggest drop.Fed officials flagged the possibility of higher interest rates if the Middle East conflict drags on and keeps inflation above the 2% goal, minutes from the central bank's April meeting showed.Meeting participants generally determined that elevated inflation, combined with uncertainty around the duration and impact of the Iran war, could justify holding rates for longer than previously anticipated, the meeting minutes showed.However, majority of Fed officials pointed out "that some policy firming would likely become appropriate if inflation were to continue to run persistently above 2%.""The discussion at the April meeting suggests the (Federal Open Market Committee) is becoming increasingly worried about the inflation outlook," Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, said in a report. "While it is in no rush to raise rates, that possibility will only grow if inflation remains stubbornly high."Treasury yields plunged in Wednesday late-afternoon trade, with the 10-year yield rate declining 9.6 basis points to 4.58% and the two-year rate retreating 7.4 basis points to 4.05%.Bond yields have surged amid mounting concerns about inflation. Higher yields drove a sell-off in stocks on Tuesday, according to Macquarie."The state of play now and following the end of earnings season, is that stock indexes are likely to remain sensitive to what happens to long-term yields," Macquarie said in note Wednesday. "Should yields go higher (for whatever reason), stocks will slip further."West Texas Intermediate crude oil was last down 5.5% at $98.47 a barrel, while Brent fell 5.6% to $105.03.US President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that negotiations with Iran had reached the final stages, though he warned of further attacks if Tehran backs out, according to a Reuters report.Shares of airlines and cruise operators were notable gainers on Wednesday, with United Airlines (UAL) up 10%, the top gainer on S&P 500. Delta Air Lines (DAL) jumped 9.4%, among the best performers on the index, along with Carnival (CCL) and Norwegian Cruise Line (NCLH).In other company news, Hasbro (HAS) reported a first-quarter operating loss for the consumer products division even as the toymaker delivered stronger-than-expected results at the consolidated level. The stock slid 8.8%, the worst performer on the S&P 500.Target (TGT) shares fell 3.9%, among the steepest declines on the S&P 500. The retailer lifted its full-year sales growth outlook as it recorded higher-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results.TJX (TJX) raised its full-year outlook after posting stronger-than-expected fiscal first-quarter results, with comparable sales rising across all segments. The stock climbed 5.6%.Gold was last up 0.8% at $4,549.30 per troy ounce, while silver rose 1.8% to $76.48 per ounce.

$^DJI$^IXIC$^SPX$CCL$DAL$HAS$NCLH$NVDA$TGT$TJX$UAL
Fed Officials Flag Rate Hike Possibility if Inflationary Pressures Persist, FOMC Minutes Show
US Markets

Fed Officials Flag Rate Hike Possibility if Inflationary Pressures Persist, FOMC Minutes Show

Federal Reserve officials flagged the possibility of higher interest rates if the Middle East conflict drags on and keeps inflation above the 2% goal, minutes from the central bank's April meeting showed Wednesday.At that meeting, the Federal Open Market Committee decided to keep its policy rate unchanged between 3.50% and 3.75% for a third straight time amid uncertainty around the US economic outlook.A fragile ceasefire between the US and Iran appears to be holding, though the two sides are yet to finalize a framework to end the conflict despite a series of talks.Meeting participants generally determined that elevated inflation, combined with uncertainty around the duration and impact of the Iran war, could justify holding rates for longer than previously anticipated, the meeting minutes showed.However, majority of Fed officials pointed out "that some policy firming would likely become appropriate if inflation were to continue to run persistently above 2%.""Many participants indicated that they would have preferred removing the language from the post-meeting statement that suggested an easing bias regarding the likely direction of the committee's future interest rate decisions," according to the document.Three regional presidents supported the April policy decision, but opposed including an easing bias in the statement. Fed Governor Stephen Miran, whose resignation will take effect the moment Kevin Warsh is sworn in as Fed chair, favored an interest rate reduction.Several participants were of the view that the Fed's next move could be a rate cut, assuming inflation begins to cool or the labor market weakens significantly, the meeting minutes showed."Participants assessed that both upside risks to inflation and downside risks to employment remained elevated," according to the minutes. "Participants generally observed that the conflict in the Middle East could have significant implications for the balance of these risks and for the appropriate path of monetary policy."Official data showed earlier this month that US annual consumer inflation accelerated in April to the fastest pace in almost three years, while the economy added more jobs than projected. Energy prices have surged amid the near-complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz."The discussion at the April meeting suggests the FOMC is becoming increasingly worried about the inflation outlook," Sal Guatieri, senior economist at BMO Capital Markets, said in a report. "While it is in no rush to raise rates, that possibility will only grow if inflation remains stubbornly high ... regardless of the previous views of the incoming chair."Markets widely expect the FOMC to keep interest rates unchanged at its next policy meeting in June, according to the CME FedWatch tool.