Stimulus Stalemate | REIT M&A | Mortgage Rates At Record-Lows

September 10, 2020 | Hoya Capital

Stimulus Stalemate | REIT M&A | Mortgage Rates At Record-Lows Daily Recap Sep 10 Written By Daily Recap U.S. equity markets finished lower Thursday after Congress failed to reach a compromise on a potential coronavirus relief bill and as the "center of the pandemic" returns to Western Europe.Following gains of 2.0% yesterday, S&P 500 finished lower by 1.7% today while the Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 406 points and the Nasdaq 100 declined 2.0%.After finishing higher by 1.0% yesterday, Equity REITs retreated by 1.3% today with 17 of 18 property sectors finishing in negative territory.

Mortgage REITs declined by 1.0%.Today's declines came after a lukewarm Initial and Jobless Claims report following several weeks of encouraging data. Initial Jobless Claims held exactly steady last week at 884k, but Continuing Claims increased sightly to 13.39 million from 13.29 million.Simon Property (SPG) and Brookfield Property (BPY) have partnered on a $800m deal to save JC Penney from bankruptcy. Meanwhile, Brookfield Asset Management (BAM) is seeking a potential sale of its Simply Self Storage unit.

Public Storage (PSA), ExtraSpace (EXR), and CubeSmart (CUBE) could be potential bidders. U.S. equity markets finished lower for the fourth day in the past five Thursday after Congress failed to reach a compromise on a potential coronavirus relief bill and as the unfortunate claim of "center of the pandemic" returns to Europe amid a reacceleration in case counts in several countries. Following gains of 2.0% yesterday, S&P 500 ETF ( SPY ) finished lower by 1.7% today while the Dow Jones Industrial Average ( DJI ) dipped 406 points and the Nasdaq 100 ( QQQ ) declined 2.0%.

After finishing higher by 1.0% yesterday, Equity REIT ETFs ( VNQ ) retreated by 1.3% today with 17 of 18 property sectors finishing in negative territory. The Mortgage REIT ETF ( REM ), meanwhile, lower by 1.0% after gaining 1.3% yesterday. The "tech wreck" trading action that began last Thursday and ...