Durable Goods Numbers Paint A Nervous Picture

For the first time in a while, the market almost completely ignored the durable goods figures released today; instead favoring a discussion surrounding technology stocks (King/Box/Facebook/Oculus).

The lack of attention focused towards a key component of the GDP figure largely stems from two reasons.

First, the numbers themselves weren’t that interesting, with the broad Durable Goods number coming in at +2.2% on a M/M basis and the less volatile Durable Goods ex transportation at +0.2%.  The broad number beat market expectations by 1.2%, while Durable Goods ex transportation was 0.1% below what market participants expected.

Second, indicators that are, in the current environment, more important are due tomorrow and Friday, including initial claims, the third GDP estimate,...