Stocks on Wall Street closed with sharp gains on Thursday with the Dow Jones finishing the session above 34,000 points for the first time ever and the Nasdaq 100 notching a record close as well.
Today’s rally on Wall Street comes after strong economic data suggested the US economy is on pace for a recovery from the coronavirus pandemic following a new round of stimulus and continued progress in vaccinations across the country.
Earlier in the day, the Census Bureau revealed that retail sales jumped 9.8% in March, leading President Joe Biden to proclaim that “America is coming back.” Meanwhile, investors digested a string of corporate earnings released prior to the session. The Dow Jones jumped 0.90% to reach 34,035.99 points at the closing bell. UnitedHealth Group was the strongest performer, soaring nearly 4%. The S&P 500 surged 1.11% at the end of trading with chip stocks leading the gains. The Nasdaq 100 rallied 1.61% to 14,026.195 points; Advanced Micro Devices and NVIDIA leaped over 5%. Nick Note: Rock on……. looks to me we still got some traction to the upside……
The Russian government announced on Thursday it will close Kerch Strait until October. The move, which will practically stop sea traffic from getting to Ukrainian ports of Mariupol and Berdyansk, comes hours after the United States imposed new sanctions against Kremlin. Kiev protested the decision, asserting that “this step is a flagrant violation of the right to freedom of navigation guaranteed by the [United Nations] Convention on the Law of the Sea.” Service members of the Ukrainian armed forces gather at fighting positions on the line of separation near the rebel-controlled city of Donetsk. Nick Note: the Ukrainians sealed their fate when they gave up their nukes. The Russians are testing Biden… He may fail the test. Giving Afghanistan to ISIS sends the wrong signal at the wrong time. Iran is going great guns on their nuclear program…..
The Dow Jones Industrial Average soared more than 280 points on Thursday, reaching another all-time high and surpassing, for the first time, the 34,000 point threshold. The Nasdaq 100 and the S&P 500 extended gains, both climbing to record highs as well. The sentiment among traders was bolstered by upbeat data regarding the business inventories in the country, as well as the March figure for retail sales. Moreover, the initial jobless claims in the US dropped by 193,000 in the week ending April 10. The Dow Jones jumped 0.83% or 278 points at 10:45 am ET, while the Nasdaq 100 surged 1.38% at the same time. A minute later, the S&P 500 gained 0.92%. The euro declined 0.07% versus the dollar, selling for 1.19713 at 10:48 am ET.
Business conditions in the New York region improved more than expected in April but growth remained “fairly subdued”, according to a survey released by the New York Fed on Monday.
The Empire State manufacturing index rose to 10.1 from 3.7 in March, surpassing expectations for a reading of 6.0. The new orders index rose to 7.5 this month from 3.0 the month before, while the shipments index increased to 8.6 from 7.7. The delivery time gauge pushed up to 7.0 from 1.4 in March and the inventories index printed at 8.4 this month from zero the previous month.
US industrial production up 1.4% in March
Industrial production in the United States went up by 1.4% in March compared to the month before, data released by the Federal Reserve unveiled on Thursday. The increase came in below the analysts’ expectations. On an annual basis, total industrial production gained 1%. Manufacturing output was up 2.7% month on month while mining climbed 5.7% on a monthly basis. On the other hand, utilities output dropped 11.4%. The capacity utilization in the industrial sector in March stood at 74.4%, up by 1 percentage point month on month but down 5.2 percentage points below its long-run average.
Business inventories in US up 0.5% in February
United States inventories in the manufacturing and trade sectors climbed 0.5% month-on-month in February to reach $2,010.8 billion, the Census Bureau reported on Thursday. Compared to February 2020, the figure was 0.7% lower. The combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments, adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences, was estimated at $1,549.6 billion. On a monthly basis, the statistic was 1.9%, while it grew 5.7% per annum. Seasonally adjusted business to sales ratio stood at 1.30 in February, down from last year’s ratio of 1.38.
US retail sales up by 9.8% in March
Advance estimates of retail and food services sales in the United States, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences but not for price changes, rose by 9.8% from the previous month to reach $619.1 billion, way above analysts’ expectations, the Census Bureau’s report revealed on Thursday. Total sales for the period starting with January throughout March went up by 14.3% in comparison to the same period the previous year. Retail trade sales increased by 9.4% on a monthly level and by a staggering 26.9% on an annual basis. Meanwhile, motor vehicle and parts dealers and food services and drinking places both saw a significant year-on-year growth of 71.1% and 36.0%, respectively.
Weekly Jobless Claims Fall More Than Expected, Showing Recovery Underway in US Job Market
Initial jobless claims in the United States for the week ending April 10 decreased by 193,000 compared to the previous week’s revised figure to land at 576,000, the US Department of Labor reported on Thursday. The four-week moving average was 683,000, down by 47,250 compared to the prior week’s revised average. The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate for the week ending April 3 was 2.7%, 0.1 percentage point up in comparison to unrevised numbers from the prior week. The seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the same week was 3,731,000, up by 4,000 from the previous week’s revised figure. The four-week moving average was the lowest since March 28, 2020, and stood at 3,763,000, falling by 98,000 compared to the previous week’s revised average of 3,861,000. Nick Note: forget the weasel words in these reports they are the best i have ever seen. And they lag in time one to two months……. This economy is a rocket ship
Advance estimates of retail and food services sales in the United States, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences but not for price changes, rose by 9.8% from the previous month to reach $619.1 billion, way above analysts’ expectations, the Census Bureau’s report revealed on Thursday. Total sales for the period between starting with January throughout March went up by 14.3% in comparison to the same period the previous year. Retail trade sales increased by 9.4% on a monthly level and by a staggering 26.9% on an annual basis. Nick Note: i have NEVER EVER seen numbers this hot: This market is hotter then Becky in her leopard skin thong thing drinking Champaign in my hot tub…..
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!
(RTTNews) – Bank of America Corporation (BAC) released a profit for its first quarter that advanced from last year. The company’s profit totaled $7.56 billion, or $0.86 per share. This compares with $3.54 billion, or $0.40 per share, in last year’s first quarter. Analysts had expected the company to earn $0.66 per share, according to figures compiled by Thomson Reuters. Analysts’ estimates typically exclude special items. The company’s revenue for the quarter rose 0.2% to $22.82 billion from $22.77 billion last year. Bank of America Corporation earnings at a glance:
Earnings (Q1): $7.56 Bln. vs. $3.54 Bln. last year. -EPS (Q1): $0.86 vs. $0.40 last year. -Analysts Estimate: $0.66 -Revenue (Q1): $22.82 Bln vs. $22.77 Bln last year.
Nick Note: WOW this is some hot shit… A star is born you will be seeing a red HOT economy and it WILL give us a rally in stocks like we have never seen before:
According to the study, published in the journal Antiviral Research, the drug, Ivermectin, stopped the virus, SARS-CoV-2, from growing in cell culture within 48 hours. Researchers have found that an anti-parasitic drug already available around the world can kill the novel coronavirus grown in cell cultures within 48 hours, an advance that may lead to the development and trial of a new clinical therapy for COVID-19. According to the study, published in the journal Antiviral Research, the drug, Ivermectin, stopped the virus, SARS-CoV-2, from growing in cell culture within 48 hours.
“We found that even a single dose could essentially remove all viral RNA by 48 hours and that even at 24 hours there was a really significant reduction in it,” said study co-author Kylie Wagstaff from Monash University in Australia.
The scientists said Ivermectin is an approved anti-parasitic drug that has also been shown to be effective in vitro against a broad range of viruses including HIV, Dengue, Influenza and Zika virus. However, Wagstaff cautioned that the tests conducted in the study were in vitro and that trials needed to be carried out in people. “Ivermectin is very widely used and seen as a safe drug. We need to figure out now whether the dosage you can use it at in humans will be effective – that’s the next step,” Wagstaff said. “In times when we’re having a global pandemic and there isn’t an approved treatment, if we had a compound that was already available around the world then that might help people sooner,” she said. Although the mechanism by which Ivermectin works on the virus is not known, the scientists said it is likely, based on its action in other viruses, that it works to stop the virus ‘dampening down’ the host cells’ ability to clear it. “As the virologist who was part of the team who were first to isolate and share SARS-COV2 outside of China in January 2020, I am excited about the prospect of Ivermectin being used as a potential drug against COVID-19,” said Leon Caly, study co-author from the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Australia. The scientists further cautioned that the use of Ivermectin to combat COVID-19 would depend on the results of future pre-clinical testing and ultimately clinical trials Nick Note: This is an amazing story. It should be in your bag of tricks… See PDF of the study below…
(Ruters) – Wall Street indexes closed mixed on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq Composite and S&P 500 falling despite another record intraday high for the latter and big banks’ stellar results on the first day of earnings season. Shares of Goldman Sachs Group Inc and Wells Fargo & Co rose 2.3% and 5.5% respectively on bumper first-quarter profits. Goldman capitalized on record levels of global dealmaking activity, and Wells reduced bad loan provisions and got a grip on costs tied to its sales practices scandal. JPMorgan Chase & Co’s shares fell 1.9% despite the largest U.S. bank’s earnings jumping almost 400%, as it released more than $5 billion in reserves to cover coronavirus-driven loan defaults. “The bank earnings were strong, but the market expected them to be strong,” said Christopher Grisanti, chief equity strategist at MAI Capital Management. “So the question becomes how do the bank stocks rise more from here. That’s not clear. They have had a nice ride. I think there will be other places to make money more easily in the future.” Despite bumper trading and investment-banking revenue, lending by both JP Morgan and Wells Fargo fell from a year ago. Investors will be watching this metric carefully in the upcoming earnings of smaller banks, which are more focused on traditional lending and deposit-taking. The KBW Regional Banking Index has outperformed the KBW Bank Index year to date, although the latter – which represents 24 of the largest U.S. banks – has beaten the index of smaller institutions over the last month. “Financials have done well for a while, so we’re happy with that now, but will we reach a point of diminishing returns in that sector? I don’t know,” said Drew Horter, president and chief investment officer of Tactical Fund Advisors in Cincinnati. The S&P 500 financials sector was one of the first quarter’s best performers, rising 15% even as the Federal Reserve pledged to keep interest rates low in the near future. It rose 0.7% on Wednesday. The S&P 500 energy sector was the largest gainer among the 11 sub-indexes, advancing 2.9% as it tracked higher oil prices. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 53.62 points, or 0.16%, to 33,730.89; and the S&P 500 lost 16.93 points, or 0.41%, at 4,124.66. The Nasdaq Composite dropped 138.26 points, or 0.99%, to 13,857.84, weighed by technology-related stocks including Apple Inc, Microsoft Corp and Tesla Inc. Coinbase Global Inc jumped upon its listing on the Nasdaq on Wednesday, at one point hitting $429.54 per share versus a reference price of $250. The cryptocurrency exchange closed at $328.28. Cryptocurrency and blockchain-related firms including Riot Blockchain and Marathon Digital Holdings fell 15.4% and 15.8% respectively, after soaring ahead of Coinbase’s debut and as bitcoin hit a record high of over $63,000 on Tuesday. Volume on U.S. exchanges was 9.50 billion shares, compared with the 11.27 billion average for the full session over the last 20 trading days. Advancing issues outnumbered declining ones on the NYSE by a 1.45-to-1 ratio; on Nasdaq, a 1.22-to-1 ratio favored advancers. The S&P 500 posted 68 new 52-week highs and no new lows; the Nasdaq Composite recorded 96 new highs and 32 new lows.
Wall Street stock markets closed mostly lower on Wednesday as the Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell noted that the economic rebound from the COVID-19 pandemic could still be in danger, likely to new infections. Meanwhile, Coinbase officially debuted on the Nasdaq, initially trading at $384.45 per share with a 53.6% surge from its original reference price of $250. US President Joe Biden announced that May 1 would be when the US troops finally start to withdraw from Afghanistan, ending America’s longest war of 20 years. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.16% at the closing bell with The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. gaining 2.34%. The Nasdaq 100 was down 1.31% led by Atlassian Corp dropping by 4.42%, while the S&P dipped 0.41% as Discovery fell by 4.95%. Nick Note: Perfect… we need the market to climb a wall of worry. Today’s downturn is the healthiest thing imaginable. In the past 20 trading days the NASDAQ has climbed 2000 points. I do not believe the rally is over. Powell will not derail this rally. Earnings are stupendous and after fits and starts the vaccines are bringing the pandemic under control…….