Economic Blog

More than 6 million people filed new claims for unemployment in the week ending March 28. It’s hard to capture what a number like that means. Last week’s 3.3 million new claims was already almost five times the previous high of 695,000, reached in 1982. Economists’ consensus for this morning’s number was 3.8 million, which still would have been about triple the largest weekly increase ever before last week. The 6.6 million new unemployment claims reported today is once again off the charts. Continue reading →

DAILY INSIGHTS

Earlier gains erased after another massive surge in jobless claims. Stocks opened lower as they look to recover from a rough start to April and the second quarter. The overnight spike in oil prices was the main driver of earlier gains before market participants got a look at the devastating number of job losses announced this morning (more information below). Continue reading →

Economic Blog

“Could there be another depression” is one of the top questions we’ve received over the past week. “Yes, we are in a recession and many are worried if things may get much worse before they get better,” explained LPL Financial Senior Market Strategist Ryan Detrick. “But we continue to think the double-barrel of support from the Federal Reserve (Fed) and the $2 trillion CARES Act should help to provide a bridge for consumers and small businesses to help get them to the other side of this slowdown. Continue reading →

Economic Blog

With the US economy having entered recession, investors were braced for weak manufacturing data today. The report released this morning at 10am ET clearly showed the pandemic has negatively impacted the sector, but the headline number was actually quite a bit better than economists had forecast. Continue reading →

DAILY INSIGHTS

More weakness. After wrapping up one of the worst quarters ever for stocks, stocks sold off globally this morning after a somber warning from President Trump. Trump said the United States is facing potentially its toughest two weeks ever, and the White House is projecting deaths between 100,000 and 240,000, even with social distancing in place. Continue reading →

Market Blog

Factor #1 in our Road to Recovery Playbook is finding confidence in the peak of COVID-19 cases in the United States.  At LPL Research we are monitoring this factor daily, and we wanted to provide an update into what we are seeing. As shown in the LPL Chart of the Day, while the number of new cases in the United States has continued to climb, the number of new cases seen outside of the US did drop in recent days before jumping again yesterday. Continue reading →

DAILY INSIGHTS

Stocks slightly lower after Monday’s solid gains. The five-day rally in the S&P 500 Index at 17.4% was the second best in the index’s history, suggesting a pause may be in order. The latest COVID-19 news is focused on whether hotspots, including Italy, Spain, and New York, have seen the worst of the outbreak, while support for a fourth fiscal stimulus package is building. Continue reading →

Market Blog

The big equity bounce has continued, with the S&P 500 Index up more than 17% from the multi-year lows hit last Monday. The big question on many investors’ minds is could this be a bear market rally? After all, some of the most spectacular short-term bounces took place during bear markets. Continue reading →

Market Blog

Initial jobless claims came in at a record 3.3 million last week, exceeding most economist estimates. In our latest LPL Street View video, LPL Financial Chief Investment Officer Burt White breaks down big number, but also focuses on some numbers that are more important.

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DAILY INSIGHTS

Another big week. Stocks opened higher on the heels of huge gains last week. President Trump extended the CDC’s social distancing guidelines through April, as there has been success with containment strategies in Seattle, and China saw no new cases in Wuhan for a sixth straight day. Continue reading →