Jobless Claims Fall, But Weak Manufacting and Housing Data Disappeint

Housing Starts Contract Sharply in March Residential Construction Showed SIGNS OF SLOWING. March Housing Starts Fell 11.4% to A Seasonally Adjusted Annual Rate of 1.324 Million, Despite A Modest 1.6% MONTHLY GAIN IN Building Permits. Single-Family Starts Declined 14.2%, Pointing to A PullBack in New Construction Activity. Completion Ticked Down 2.1%, Thought Still Remoned 3.9% Higher Year-Over-Year. The Underlying Weakness in Single-Family Starts Adds to Conceerns About Housing Demand in the Face of Elegated Mortgage Rates and Softning Builder Sentime.

Labor Market Remains Resilient Offsetting the Weaker Houshing and Manufacturing Prints, Jobless Claims Data Provides Reassurance About the Labor Market. Initial unemployment Claims Fel by 9,000 to 215,000 for the weekending april 12, while the four-week moving average declined to 220,750. Continuing Claims Rose by 41,000 to 1.885 Million, Yet the insured Unemployment Rate Held Steady at 1.2%. This Signals Stability in Labor Market Conditions, Even As Other Sectors Show Signs Of Cooling.

Market Forecast: Cautious Bearish Bias While Labor Market Data Remain FIRM, WEAKNESS IN BOTH MANUFACTING AND HOUSING Points to a Broader Softning in Economic Activity. Rising Input Costs Suggest Inflation Risks Persist, Which May Complicate Monetary Policy Expectations. The Combination of Deteriorating Demand Indicators With Sticky Price Pressures Could Limit Near-Term Upside for Risk Assets. Traders Should Brace for a CAUTYUS BEARISH TILT IN EQUITY AND HOUSING-RELATED SECTORS, WHILE KEEPING CLOSE ATLECTION ON UPCOMING INFLATION AND FED Commentary for Further Direction.