Friends
Oil recovered some today, and so did the stock market. So far, it appears that the oil market is this week’s leading indicator for stocks. On the earnings front, Netflix had a blockbuster report which was not unexpected, as did Kimberly-Clark which was also not a surprise. But, other companies that are not as fortunate as the quarantine enhanced group, are going to struggle. We have begun to see dividend suspensions, and companies’ future guidance is as clear as mud. But, as we have seen over the past few weeks, there are some days when market participants simply look past the present situation and believe/hope that things will return to “normal” (whatever that is now). Also, there is a lot of liquidity looking for a home, and pullbacks in stocks might find support as we move forward.
For the day, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 456 points to close at 23,475. The S&P 500 was up 62 points to close at 2,799. Gold was up $47 to trade at $1,734 per ounce, while the aforementioned oil was up $2.41 to trade at $13.98 per barrel WTI.
There continues to be quite a debate about when to begin to open things back up, as well as procedures to follow when we do. This is going to likely be a headwind for markets that traders will be dealing with in the coming weeks and months, as we’ve said, ebbs and flows.
Have a nice evening everyone.
