feb 16  welcome to the home for realtime coverage of markets brought to you by reuters reporters you can share your thoughts with us at marketsresearchthomsonreuterscom investors are ditching video streaming stocks on wednesday with viacomcbs slumping 22 after the media companys quarterly profits missed analysts estimates shares of the conglomerate that owns cbs showtime comedy central and mtv were by far the worst performer in the sp 500 as well as posting disappointing quarterly results viacomcbs announced it will change its name to paramount and it announced a large slate of programming  and spending  to help draw new online customers who have several options from netflix inc  to walt disney co disn and others read more with competition continuing to heat up in the streaming space netflix is off almost 4 and discovery inc discao is losing almost 5 walt disney disn is up 05 after dipping about 07 earlier in the session meanwhile amc networks amcxo is tumbling 18 even after the entertainment company reported quarterly revenue and adjusted earnings per share above wall street estimates according to refinitiv netflixs stock is now down 35 year to date having given up practically all of its massive gains from the work from home market rally in 2020 and 2021 too hot not to cool down wednesday data points to aggressive fed tightening 1127 est1527 gmt an avalanche of data on wednesday buried market participants under a pile of evidence that the economy is running hot enough for powell  co to toss a bucket of water on it in the form of impending interest rate hikes receipts at us retailers usrsleci jumped by 38 in january breezing past the 2 consensus according to the commerce department rebounding from decembers downwardly revised 25 drop read more linebyline the clear outlier was nonstore retail sales a category that includes ecommerce shot up 145 this combined with a 57 jump in autosparts more than offset declines in gasoline and food services receipts the strong broadbased rebound in retail sales after the weak december is particularly impressive given the drag from the omicron variant and serves as a reminder that the us consumer doesn’t stay down for long writes jeff buchbinder equity strategist at lpl financial socalled core retail sales which excludes building materials autosparts gasoline and food services  the measure corresponding most closely tracks the consumer spending element of gdp  jumped 48 well above the more modest 1 gain analysts expected in a separate report industrial production usipeci bounced back more strongly than anticipated in the first weeks of 2022 but utilities amid frigid winter temperatures did much of the heavy lifting notes ian shepherdson chief economist at pantheon macroeconomics headline production was hugely flattered by weather effects colderthanusual temperatures both in absolute terms and relative to december triggered a huge increase in demand for utility energy shepherdson says capacity utilization uscapueci a measure of economic slack jumped 11 percentage points to 776 above the 763 prepandemic level speaking of supply chain disruptions lets talk about inflation recent indicators cpi ppi wage growth have been coming in hotter than anticipated adding to the probability that the federal reserve will take action at its next monetary policy meeting and raise key interest rates and the cost of goods imported to the united states usimpeci which jumped by 2 in january  the biggest jump in nearly 11 years and above the more tame 13 gain expected read more the record pace of core inflation is especially noteworthy as it offers another sign that price pressures are continuing to broaden across the economy in early 2022 says mahir rashid us economist at oxford economics oe the graphic below shows import prices among other indicators and how far they continue to soar beyond the powell  cos average annual 2 inflation target turning to the housing market the mood of us homebuilders has dimmed a bit this month the national association of home builders nahb housing market index usnahbeci unexpectedly shed 1 point to a reading of 82 analysts thought the reading would hold steady waning affordability appears to be weighing on the sector according to nahb rising home prices and interest rates are taking a terrible toll on housing affordability with 875 million households or roughly 69 of all us households unable to afford a new median priced home they warn on their website higher input costs and shortages remain headwinds for builders says rubeela farooqi chief us economist at high frequency economics while tight inventories should be supportive of building activity high prices as well as rising mortgage rates this year will likely be constraints for buyers thanks for the tidy segue ms farooqi demand for home loans dipped last week as interest rates continue their uphill climb according to the mortgage bankers association mba the average 30year fixed contract rate usmgeci jumped 23 basis points to 405 poking its head above the 4 line for the first time since november 2019 applications for loans to purchase homes usmgpieci and refinance existing mortgages usmgreci both decreased by 12 and 89 respectively the jump in mortgage rates reflected both the backup in treasury yields and a further widening in mortgage spreads to treasuries says nancy vanden houten lead economist at oe the rise in rates is taking a toll on homebuying affordability and will weigh on home sales in the months ahead the graphic below tells the tale total mortgage demand is down 398 from the same week last year finally in more ancient news the value of goods in the store rooms of us businesses usbinveci grew by 21 in december inline with economist forecasts the commerce departments inventories seems to confirm its initial take on fourthquarter gdp which showed private inventories contributing 49 percentage points to the total 69 quarterly annualized growth reported late last month the mood on wall street is sour ahead of the fed minutes and as investors keep an eye on the constantly shifting situation along the russiaukraine border us stocks are lower in early trade on wednesday after strongerthanexpected retail sales data gave the federal reserve more ammunition to tighten policy while geopolitical tensions over russia and ukraine added to caution the data comes ahead of minutes from the feds last meeting due at 2 pm est investors are looking for more clues on the central banks plans to trim its massive balance sheet and hike interest rates read more in any event the sp 500 spx is finding its 200day moving average which now resides around 4456 to be a sticky level traders will be watching to see if the benchmark index can decisively move way from it in one direction or the other here is where markets stand in early trade the invesco qqq trust series 1 qqqo which tracks the nasdaq 100 index ndx has been battered of late that said the money flow index mfi an indicator that incorporates both price and volume is attempting to stabilize at an important support line indeed the qqq ended tuesday down around 12 from its november record close for 2022 the etf is off 105 so far and 19 this month of note on a monthly basis and since early 2018 the mfi has been trapped between a resistance line from its 2014 high and a support line from its 2009 low read more  after topping shy of the resistance line this past december while diverging from the qqq the mfi plunged in january to once again test the support line it ended the month essentially right on the line so far in february and despite the qqqs monthly drop the mfi is holding the line and is actually on track to tick up very slightly it is only midmonth but if the support line can continue to work its magic and the mfi has bottomed the qqq could be on the verge of a surprise upside turn conversely an mfi support line break at the close of the month will end what has been a consistent pattern this could then suggest potential that the qqq could see another waterfall slide given the substantial room before the mfi would reach its support line from 2002 read more for wednesdays live markets posts prior to 0900 est1400 gmt  click here read more terence gabriel is a reuters market analyst the views expressed are his own