Indexes Close Lower, End Week Higher

MARKETS TODAY April 14th, 2023 (Vica Partners)

Good Friday Evening!

Yesterday, key Indices closed sharply higher led by Nasdaq and FANG+. 10 of 11 of the S&P 500 sectors were higher, Communication Services and Consumer Discretionary outperform/ Real Estate lagged. Yield mostly rise while Bitcoin and Gold gained. In economic news, headline PPI/ Core PPI came in lower than expected, Jobs higher.

Overnight, Asian markets finished higher with shares in Japan leading the region. The Nikkei 225 was up 1.20%, China’s Shanghai Composite up 0.60% and Hong Kong’s Hang Seng up 0.46%. Premarket, European markets finished higher today with shares in France leading the region. The CAC 40 was up 0.52%, Germany’s DAX up 0.50% and London’s FTSE 100 up 0.36%. S&P 500 US futures were trading -0.10% below fair value.

US markets today, Key Indices close lower, DOW drops 143 point and lags. 9 of 11 of the S&P 500 sectors finish lower, Utilities and Real Estate underperform/ Financials outperform – BIG Banks JP Morgan and Citi beat on earnings. Yield rise across thew curve. Bitcoin and USD Index rise. In economic news, Retail Sales declined by 1% in March, led by lower spending on vehicles while manufacturing output fell. US consumer sentiment improved in April.

Takeaways

  • BIG Banks JP Morgan and Citi beat on earnings
  • Financials and Energy outperform
  • BIG Banks forward recessionary warnings contribute to selloff
  • Indices end higher on the Week, DOW +1.2%, S&P +0.08%, Nasdaq +0.03%
  • CBOE Volatility Index ^VIX closes at 17.07, records YTD low
  • Bitcoin almost breaks $31K today
  • Retail Sales and manufacturing output declined in March
  • OPEC forecasts rising oil demand, analysts expect higher energy prices ahead
  • Markets priced in a 76% chance of a 25-basis-point rate hike in the May

Pro Tip: Estimating how much your stock-market investment will return over time then use an average annual return of 5.0%. Investing in S&P 500 is less risky than buying single stocks, as it’s diversified by sector. SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is a start.

Sectors/ Commodities/ Treasuries

Key Indexes (50d, 100d, 200d)

S&P Sectors

  • 9 of 11 of the S&P 500 sectors finish lower, Utilities -1.47% and Real Estate -1.18% underperform/ Financials 0.73% outperforms

Commodities

US Treasuries

Notable Earnings Today

  • + UnitedHealth (UNH), JPMorgan (JPM), Wells Fargo & Co (WFC), Citigroup (C)
  •  BlackRock (BLK), PNC Financial (PNC)
  • * Strong support – Albermarie (ALB), Alphabet (GOOGL), NVIDIA (NVDA), Meta (META), Citigroup (C), Morgan Stanley (MS),   BlackRock (BLK)

Economic Data

US

  • U.S. retail sales; period March, act -1.0%, fc -0.5%. prev. -0.2%
  • Retail sales minus autos, period March, act -0.8%, fc -0.4%, prev. 0%
  • Import price index; period March, act -0.6% , fc -0.2%, prev. -0.1%
  • Import prices minus fuel; period March, act -0.5%. prev. 0.4%
  • Industrial production; period March, 0.4%    0.2%  0.2%
  • Capacity utilization, period March, act 79.8%, fc 79.1%, prev. 79.6%
  • Business inventories; period Feb., act 0.2%, fc 0.3%. prev. -0.2%
  • Consumer sentiment; period April, act 63.5, fc 62, prev. 62

Summary – Americans cut back back on big ticket purchases as interest rates rose. Retail sales fall 1.0% in March, Core retail sales decline 0.3%, Manufacturing production falls 0.5%, Import prices fall 0.6%; drop 4.6% year-on-year. US consumer sentiment improves in April while short-term inflation expectations rise

News

Company News/ Other

  • UnitedHealth First-Quarter Earnings, Revenue Up as Company Added Members – WSJ
  • JPMorgan amasses deposits as customers move money to largest U.S. bank – Reuters
  • OPEC Sees Oil Demand Climbing, at Odds With Saudi-Led Production Cut – WSJ

Central Banks/Inflation/Labor Market

  • Unemployment Is Low. Inflation Is Falling. But What Comes Next? – NY Times
  • El-Erian Terrified of Central Banks Losing Autonomy Over Errors – Bloomberg
  • World’s Most Influential Central Banks’ Balance Sheets Look to Have Troughed – Coindesk

China

  • China agreed to secretly arm Russia, leaked Pentagon documents reveal – Guardian
  • In China, Lula seeks help to build back Brazilian industry – AP

Journal

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