Published April 30, 2021
Below is a smattering of data points on the state of the reopening economy. These tidbits come from the always informative weekly roundup provided by Blaine Rollins at Hamilton Lane. We hope you find them as informative as we do.
There you have it. A blistering economic recovery is underway. We know that something will come along to surprise us; always does. What will it be?
Market Update
This week brought earnings reports from the heavyweights of the Nasdaq, which together represent 20% of the stock market’s value. Monday brought a +0.9% uptick in the Nasdaq ahead of those earnings. Microsoft and Alphabet announced strong earnings after the close but found mixed responses, with Microsoft falling and Alphabet rising. The broad market ran in place Tuesday as a result. However, delivery companies UPS and FedEx saw sharp rises in their stock prices on good results from UPS. Wednesday delivered another flat day with investors cheering results from Texas Instruments while selling the earnings news from Boeing. Fed Chair Powell reaffirmed the market’s expectation that the central bank will not be raising interest rates anytime this year. The group expects any elevated inflation to be temporary. Stocks pushed to a record high Thursday responding well to earnings from Apple and Facebook. But it was a volatile session, swinging widely between gains and losses before rebounding to close +0.7%. Friday saw stocks under pressure throughout the day with investors closing the month of April by reducing their risk in a -0.7% slip. Amazon’s strong earnings could not overcome the negative tone. Supply chain concerns have been a regular cautionary feature of this quarter’s earnings reports. Covid-19 cases have also been spiking in India and Brazil, keeping the pandemic cloud from fully lifting over the global economy.
For the week the S&P 500 (SPY) ran flat at +0.13%. The Nasdaq (QQQ) slipped -0.42%. Smallcap stocks (IWM) also dipped -0.39%.
Warm wishes and until next week.