Friends
All eyes were on the employment report this morning and there were really no surprises. 215,000 new jobs were created in March and the unemployment rate ticked back up to 5% (more job availability is bringing more unemployed off of the sidelines to start looking for a job again). Average hourly earnings were up slightly .3%, which is good, but still not robust.
As for the markets, traders sold the news on the openings sending the Dow down more than 100 points, but buyers quickly appeared and moved prices back into positive territory as the session wore on. By the close, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 107 points to finish the day at 17,792. The S&P 500 was up 13 points to close at 2072. Gold was down $11 to trade at $1,224 per ounce, while oil was down $1.50 to trade at $36.84 per barrel WTI.
Now with the Fed in the rear view mirror and the employment report coming in somewhat benign (not too hot and not too cold), traders will turn their attention to corporate earnings. Expectations are low, but prices have recovered from early year losses. I’m not sure if the setup is positive or not. If stock prices were still down I might be inclined to say the set up was good for a bounce even on bad earnings. Now, we’ll just have to see, and it might be more on a case by case basis. One thing is for sure, the recent move up in share prices seemed to catch many market participants off guard. The pain trade still appears to be to the upside. The bears are feeling a little less assured than they were a couple of months ago.
Have a great weekend everyone.
