Global markets were lower for the last week of April. The S&P 500 declined 3.3% and the Dow fell 2.5% for the week. The FTSE All World Ex US was down 1.54% for the week. Concerns over slowing global growth added additional pressure to a market already dealing with high Inflation and supply chain disruptions. US crude ended the week at $104.69 per barrel up from $102.07 the week prior. The 10-year Treasury yield rose to 2.94% from 2.90% the week prior.
US real GDP (inflation-adjusted) unexpectedly fell short of economist estimates and shrank by 1.4% in the first quarter, down from 6.9% of growth in the previous quarter. Consumer spending continued to be strong, rising at an annual rate of 2.7% in the first quarter from 2.5% in the prior quarter.
Without adjusting for seasonality, employers spent 4.5% more on worker compensations in the first quarter compared with the same period a year earlier. The fastest increase in over two decades. Seasonally adjusted compensation increased 1.4% in the first quarter compared with a 1.0% increase in the fourth quarter.
Fidelity will be the first major retirement plan provider to allow investors to hold cryptocurrencies in their IRA accounts.
Concerns over the economic impacts of strict policies to combat Covid caused the worst sell off in Chinese stocks in over two years. The Yuan hit its lowest level since 2020.