- US stocks rose on Thursday following blockbuster earnings results from three large banks.
- Coinbase made its splash on the Nasdaq, closing its first day of trading at a valuation of $86 billion.
- Fed Chair Powell said the central bank will scale back bond purchases before lifting interest rates
US stocks edged higher on Thursday after three of the largest US banks beat analyst expectations with their first-quarter results, and Coinbase began trading at a valuation of more than $100 billion. The crypto exchange’s shares closed 14% lower at $328.28 per share on Wednesday, giving it a valuation of $86 billion on a fully diluted basis. Futures on the Dow Jones, S&P 500, and Nasdaq rose between 0.3% and 0.6%, suggesting a higher open for US indices later in the day. JPMorgan reported a 25% jump in trading revenue even as analysts expected lower volumes across the market, with an overall revenue of $33 billion for the quarter. Revenue estimates were $30.4 billion. Goldman Sachs too posted a profitable quarter on the back of strong trading and deal-making. Wells Fargo’s earnings topped estimates as its quarterly net income rose to $4.7 billion, helped by a larger than expected release of loan loss reserves. Fed Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated on Wednesday the central bank won’t taper its emergency asset purchases until it sees progress on its goals of above 2% inflation and maximum employment. Powell disclosed he hasn’t had conversations on policy with President Joe Biden – a sharp contrast from how former President Donald Trump frequently urged the Fed to lower interest rates and critiqued its independence. Elsewhere in Europe, ECB President Lagarde said at a Reuters event the euro zone economy is still standing on “two crutches” of monetary and fiscal stimulus, and they shouldn’t be removed until full recovery. Members of the ECB are scheduled to meet next week for the first time since they increased the pace of the Pandemic Emergency Purchase Programme to decelerate the surge in bond yields. Nick Note: What you are seeing here is a new kind of Animal. This rally is something very new. A war time economy opening back up that does not have to rebuild. You literally flick on the light switch, call back your employees and you are dinning again, flying again or screwing your fuck buddy in the sand. So that means the algo guys and momentum players are not understanding how Hot the economy really is. the old valuation models don’t apply. They are afraid of this rally and are holding back. Their econometric models are flashing caution the market is too hot. When in reality the stock market is underestimating the coming profits or the speed those profits will show up on the balance sheets…… All i can Say when they figure it out and rush in we will sell them some!