All the news you need to stay informed about what’s currently driving the market – courtesy of Raffa Wealth Management, LLC.
US Stocks were flat for the week after digesting a variety of economic reports and US missile strike on Syria. The S&P 500 eased 0.3% and Dow edged down slightly for the week. Internationally, Europe was flat, but Japan fell 1.3% for the week. The yield on the 10 year Treasury edged down slightly to end the week at 2.38%. Article
The jobs report fell well below expectations with only 98,000 jobs added below the 175,000 expected. In addition, the January and February reports were revised to show 38,000 less new hires. However, the unemployment rate did drop 0.2% to 4.5%. The average hourly earnings rose 2.7% in March from a year earlier in line with expectations. Article
US manufacturing activity continued to expand in March, however at a reduced rate as compared to February.
Auto sales dipped in March.
Minutes from the Fed’s March meeting were released showing that it would likely begin shrinking a $4.5 trillion loan portfolio later this year. Article
US firms in the S&P 500 are expected to post an 11.2% jump in earnings in the first quarter over last year, the strongest performance since 2011.
Tesla posted its best quarter to date with a sales increase of 69%. It is now the second most highly valued auto firm in the US behind GM.
Panera Bread agreed to sell its self to European investment fund JAB holding for $7.2 billion.
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