US Stocks Return Weekly Gains Sparked by Exxon and Chevron Earnings Beats

MARKETS TODAY April 28th, 2023 (Vica Partners)

Yesterday, US Markets sharply rose as strong earnings reversed the early Week selloff. The DOW gained +500 points with Nasdaq/Tech leading advancers. All 11 of the S&P 500 sectors finished higher, Communications outperformed/ Energy lagged. Treasury Yields rose across the curve, Bitcoin jumped >4%.

Overnight, Asian markets finished higher, The Nikkei 225 +1.40%, China’s Shanghai Composite +1.14%, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng +0.55%. Pre-market, European markets finished mixed, the DAX +0.49%, FTSE 100 +0.30%, CAC 40 -0.25%. S&P 500 US futures were trading 0.2% below fair-value.

Today, US Markets finished higher with the 3 major Indices all returning a weekly gain. The Nasdaq led Weekly gainers picking up 1.3% over the past 5 days. 10 of 11 of the S&P 500 sectors finished higher on the day, Energy +1.76% outperformed. The Volatility Index dropped to a +17 month low today. Oil rose and SPDR S&P Banking ETF (KRE) +1.74%. Exxon and Chevron delivered solid earnings beats. In economic news, the Fed’s favored Inflation metric Core PCE remained historically high at 4.6% but moderating, as consumer spending was unchanged in March

Takeaways

  • Exxon and Chevron delivered solid earnings beats that’s sparks market
  • 3 major Indices all returning a weekly gain
  • The Volatility Index dropped to close to 18 month low
  • Energy +1.76% and Real Estate 1.39% led Sector advancers
  • iShares Semiconductor ETF ^SOXX, up 1.80%
  • Treasury 10/2 inverted curve moderating
  • Inflation cooling, wage gains still continue weigh on the Fed

Pro Tip:

There are several basic chart patterns that are commonly used in financial market analysis. Head and shoulders is a chart pattern in which a large peak has a slightly smaller peak on either side of it. Traders look at head and shoulders patterns to predict a bullish-to-bearish reversal (click here to learn more).

Sectors/ Commodities/ Treasuries

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

S&P Sectors

  • 10 of 11 of the S&P 500 sectors finish higher, Energy +1.76% and Real Estate 1.39% led advancers/ Utilities -0.06% lags

Commodities

Mega Caps Growth (YTD)

US Treasuries

 Notable Earnings Today  

  • +Beat: Exxon Mobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), Sony ADR (SONY), Colgate-Palmolive (CL), Natwest Group (NWG), Mitsubishi Electric ADR (MIELY), Komatsu (KMTUY)
  • Miss: Industrial Commercial Bank of China (IDCBY), Aon (AON), Charter Communications (CHTR), TC Energy (TRP), Newell Brands (NWL)
  • * Strong support – Meta Platforms (META) Microsoft (MSFT), Alphabet (GOOG,GOOGL), Visa (V), NVIDIA (NVDA), Owens Corning (OC),Berkshire Hathaway (BRK-B), Citigroup (C), BlackRock (BLK),  Morgan Stanley (MS), Union Pacific (UNP), Coca-Cola (KO), PACCAR (PCAR), Centene (CNC), Humana (HUM), Mastercard (MA), Caterpillar (CAT), ConocoPhillips (COP)

Economic Data

US

  • Employment cost index; period Q1, act 1.2%, fc 1.0%. prev. 1.0%
  • Personal income (nominal); period March, act 0.3%, fc 0.2%. prev. 0.3%
  • Personal spending (nominal); period March, act 0.0%, fc 0.0%, prev. 0.1%
  • PCE index; period March, act 0.1%. prev. 3%
  • Core PCE index; period March, act 3%. fc 0.3%, prev. 0.3%
  • PCE (year-over-year); period March, act 2%, prev. 5.1%
  • Core PCE (year-over-year); period March, act 4.6%. fc 4.5%, prev. 4.7%
  • Chicago Business Barometer; period April, act 48.6, fc 43.5, prev. 43.8
  • Consumer sentiment (final); period April, act 63.5, fc 63.5. prev. 63.5

News

Company News/ Other

  • S. officials lead urgent rescue talks for First Republic – Reuters
  • Amazon’s cloud warning rattles investors – Reuters
  • Chevron tops estimates with Q1 profit gain despite slide in oil prices – Reuters

Central Banks/Inflation/Labor Market

  • Inflation pressures remain persistent as consumers pull back – AP
  • Fed Says It Failed to Act on Problems That Led to Silicon Valley Bank Collapse – WSJ

China

  • Billionaire Ray Dalio just spent 13 days in China and has advice – Fortune
  • In China, a Detention and a New Espionage Law Have Businesses Worried – WSJ

Journal

News

VMSI Edges Up to 25.2, But Market Remains Deep in Risk-Off Territory

What is VMSI? The VICA Market Sentiment Index tracks institutional capital flows, risk posture, and macro volatility weekly. Built for ...
News

Institutional Allocators Aren’t Watching Volatility—They’re Designing Into It

VICA Partners Intelligence | April 2025 A regime transition in capital allocation is underway—and the smartest money is leading the ...
News

VMSI Drops to 22.4 as Risk-Off Accelerates and Volatility Deepens

VMSI Gauge Chart — Displaying Current Sentiment and Risk Level The VMSI gauge indicates a current sentiment score of 22.4, ...