The equities markets and stock exchange traded funds eased back to into the green Friday after a tumultuous week clouded by Cyprus banks and fresh wave of Eurozone concerns.
Eurozone concerns escalated earlier this week after E.U. leaders tried to impose bank levies on all Cypriot depositors, which would have eroded confidence in banks and could have posed a precedence for other troubled states, namely Spain and Italy, to mirror. On Friday, Cyprus is looking at a new deal that could unlock billions in bailout money.
While most of our attention was back on Europe, U.S. housing starts and existing home sales data show improving economic conditions.
“Housing will be a major contributor not just to GDP growth, but also to job creation,” said Dan Heckman, a fixed income strategist at The Private Client Reserve at U.S. Bank, said in a Reuters article.
On Wednesday, the Federal Open Market Committee reaffirmed its continuation of its monthly purchases of $45 billion in Treasury bonds and $40 billion in mortgage-backed securities, boosting confidence in the equities market.