HIRING REBOUNDS IN APRIL
Employers added 223,000 new jobs last month, the Labor Department noted Friday. That news made the March payroll gain of 85,000 look like an aberration. The main jobless rate fell to a 7-year low of 5.4% in April, and the U-6 rate tracking the total unemployed ticked down to 10.8%; the population of people out of work for six months or longer fell by 38,000 to 2.5 million, representing 29% of the total unemployed. Wages were up 2.2% year-over-year. 1
SERVICE SECTOR PMI REACHES 5-MONTH PEAK
Rising to 57.8 for April, the Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing purchasing managers’ index displayed its best reading since November. A 4.1% upturn in business activity was instrumental in the gain.2
CRUDE OIL NEARS $60 ON THE NYMEX
Last week’s 0.5% advance took oil prices to a Friday settlement of $59.46. A key factor: the federal government announced a weekly inventory dip of 3.9 million barrels. In precious metals, gold gained 1.2% last week, with futures closing Friday at $1,188.00; silver advanced 2.1% for the week, platinum 1.2% and palladium 3.7%. In contrast, copper prices retreated 0.3%.3
STRONG JOBS REPORT RESCUES WALL STREET’S WEEK
A Friday rally sent the major indices north. As the trading day ended, the Dow closed at 18,191.11, the Nasdaq at 5,003.55 and the S&P 500 at 2,116.10.Across five days, the Dow went +0.93%, the Nasdaq -0.04% and the S&P +0.37%.4
THIS WEEK: Euro area finance ministers begin a 2-day meeting Monday; stateside, Dean Foods and DISH Network present Q1 results. GoDaddy announces Q1 results Tuesday. Wednesday offers April retail sales numbers and the latest readings of euro area GDP and industrial output for both the euro area and China; also, earnings arrive from Abercrombie & Fitch, J. C. Penney, Macy’s, Ralph Lauren and Shake Shack. Thursday, the April Producer Price Index and the latest initial jobless claims report complement earnings from Applied Materials, El Pollo Loco, Jack in the Box, Kohl’s, Nordstrom, Perry Ellis and Symantec. Friday, the University of Michigan’s initial May consumer sentiment index appears along with the Federal Reserve’s report on April industrial production.
|
% CHANGE |
Y-T-D |
1-YR CHG |
5-YR AVG |
10-YR AVG |
|
DJIA |
+2.06 |
+9.91 |
+15.05 |
+7.52 |
|
NASDAQ |
+5.65 |
+23.50 |
+24.17 |
+15.27 |
|
S&P 500 |
+2.78 |
+12.82 |
+18.10 |
+7.95 |
|
REAL YIELD |
5/8 RATE |
1 YR AGO |
5 YRS AGO |
10 YRS AGO |
|
10 YR TIPS |
0.28% |
0.42% |
1.30% |
1.69% |
Sources: wsj.com, bigcharts.com, treasury.gov – 5/8/155,6,7,8
Indices are unmanaged, do not incur fees or expenses, and cannot be invested into directly. These returns do not include dividends. 10-year TIPS real yield = projected return at maturity given expected inflation.
Best regards,
Greg R. Solis, AIF®
President
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Fax: (760) 771-3181
www.soliswealth.com
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The Dow Jones Industrial Average is a price-weighted index of 30 actively traded blue-chip stocks.
The NASDAQ Composite Index is an unmanaged, market-weighted index of all over-the-counter common stocks traded on the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotation System.
The Standard & Poor’s 500 (S&P 500) is an unmanaged group of securities considered to be representative of the stock market in general. It is not possible to invest directly in an index.
NYSE Group, Inc. (NYSE:NYX) operates two securities exchanges: the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) and NYSE Arca (formerly known as the Archipelago Exchange, or ArcaEx®, and the Pacific Exchange). NYSE Group is a leading provider of securities listing, trading and market data products and services.
The New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc. (NYMEX) is the world’s largest physical commodity futures exchange and the preeminent trading forum for energy and precious metals, with trading conducted through two divisions – the NYMEX Division, home to the energy, platinum, and palladium markets, and the COMEX Division, on which all other metals trade.
Additional risks are associated with international investing, such as currency fluctuations, political and economic instability and differences in accounting standards. This material represents an assessment of the market environment at a specific point in time and is not intended to be a forecast of future events, or a guarantee of future results. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Investments will fluctuate and when redeemed may be worth more or less than when originally invested. All economic and performance data is historical and not indicative of future results. Market indices discussed are unmanaged. Investors cannot invest in unmanaged indices. The publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other professional services. If assistance is needed, the reader is advised to engage the services of a competent professional.
Citations.
1 – usatoday.com/story/money/business/2015/05/08/april-jobs-report/70971990/ [5/8/15]
2 – tradingeconomics.com/united-states/non-manufacturing-pmi [5/8/15]
3 – proactiveinvestors.com/companies/news/61389/gold-climbs-06-to-1188-wti-rises-08-to-5946-61389.html [5/8/15]
4 – markets.on.nytimes.com/research/markets/usmarkets/usmarkets.asp [5/8/15]
5 – markets.wsj.com/us [5/8/15]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=5%2F8%2F14&x=0&y=0 [5/8/15]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=5%2F8%2F14&x=0&y=0 [5/8/15]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=5%2F8%2F14&x=0&y=0 [5/8/15]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=5%2F7%2F10&x=0&y=0 [5/8/15]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=5%2F7%2F10&x=0&y=0 [5/8/15]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=5%2F7%2F10&x=0&y=0 [5/8/15]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=DJIA&closeDate=5%2F9%2F05&x=0&y=0 [5/8/15]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=COMP&closeDate=5%2F9%2F05&x=0&y=0 [5/8/15]
6 – bigcharts.marketwatch.com/historical/default.asp?symb=SPX&closeDate=5%2F9%2F05&x=0&y=0 [5/8/15]
7 – treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyield [5/8/15]
8 – treasury.gov/resource-center/data-chart-center/interest-rates/Pages/TextView.aspx?data=realyieldAll [5/8/15]