DAILY INSIGHTS
Stocks sell off globally. Stocks opened lower this morning, adding to Thursday’s declines, following some poorly received technology/internet company earnings, including Apple and Amazon; continued skepticism around the merits of the recent rally; and an increase in political tensions between the United States and China. Australia and Japan markets were down and the only Asia-Pacific markets that were open overnight. Most European markets are closed for holiday, with the exception of the United Kingdom.
ISM Manufacturing data on tap. April’s Purchasing Managers’ Index from the Institute for Supply Management (ISM) will be released today at 10 a.m. ET and is forecasted to drop to 36.9. That’s well below the breakeven point between expansion and contraction of 50 and near the 2008–09 financial crisis lows. We’ll discuss the report later today on the LPL Research blog.
What a month. After a historic drop in March, stocks soared in April. In the end, the S&P 500 added 12.7% in April for the best month since January 1987 and the best April since 1938. The Nasdaq had its best month since April 2001. The beaten-up energy sector led, with consumer discretionary, materials and technology also strong. Defensive utilities and staples lagged. What could be next? We discussed the adage “Sell in May” and the historically worst six months of the year in our April 30 blog.
Central bank roundup. It was quite the week for central banks. The Bank of Japan announced a significant jump in corporate bond buying, the European Central Bank announced easier loans for banks, and the Fed implied rates would stay low for a long time and that more stimulus is coming. We discussed central bank decisions in our April 30 Central Banks blog.
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