Friends
Things got very quiet this afternoon as we prepare for the three day weekend. After continuing the recent downturn this morning, stocks rallied back to even by midday, only to drift for the rest of the trading session. The weekly unemployment claim report was a non-event this morning as the number came in as expected, and virtually unchanged over the past several weeks. We had a lot of individual retailers reporting March sales today, and for the most part they were very good. A lot is being attributed to the very warm weather which may have pulled forward future sales, but nevertheless in total, the numbers were positive.
For the third day in a row, the Dow ended in negative territory with the average ending down 14 points to close at 13,060. The S&P 500 was down less than a point to close at 1398 (would like to have closed above 1400). Gold bounced back a little after yesterday’s shellacking as the precious metal finished the day up $18 to close near $1632. Oil was up $1.74 to trade near $103.21 per barrel WTI.
Even though the markets are closed, we do get the non-farm payroll report tomorrow. The futures markets may react, but we’ll have to wait until Monday to get the full response from the markets. Next week will mark the beginning of earnings season also. We’ll buckle up and be ready to go on Monday, and we’ll let you know how the week begins.
Have a nice weekend everyone. Enjoy Easter and Passover!
