Stocks fell over the week driven by weak economic news. The S&P 500 fell 2.2% and the Dow dropped 2.6% for the week. Abroad, the FTSE All World Ex US declined 2.5% for the week. Oil continued to bounce back with expectations of consumption increasing. Oil climbed again up 19% for the week 25% to $29.43 a barrel. The yield on the 10-year Treasury edged down to finish at 0.64%.
Comments made by the Fed make it unlikely the Fed would use negative interest rates as a monetary tool.
China’s central bank said it would continue to roll out measures to support its economy and be flexible with its monetary policy.
US Fed Chief Powell said further fiscal stimulus was likely needed to help support the economy.
Initial jobless claims were approximately 3 million for the week ending May 9th bringing the total since mid-March to over 36 million.
Retail sales fell 16.4% and manufacturing output fell 13.7% in April. Both were records.
Germany fell into recession in the first quarter with GDP dropping 8.6%. It was the second fastest rate of contraction since reunification. France, Italy and Spain posted first quarter GDP declines of 21.4%, 17.7% and 19.4%, respectively.
China’s industrial output rose 3.9% from a year earlier, topping expectations, but retail sales were down 7.5% from a year earlier, worse than expected.
US consumer sentiment rose in mid-May.