What we think

UNCATEGORIZED

Newsletter: In the Markets – Week-Ending April 7th , 2017

by Peter J. Creedon

Newsletter: In the Markets – Week-Ending April 7th, 2017

Crystal Brook Advisors

We Make Financial Planning Crystal Clear™

United States: The ISM non-manufacturing index signaled economic growth cooled a bit in March. The index fell 2.4 points but, at 55.2, continues to indicate that the economy is expanding at a decent clip, despite expectations for another soft Q1 GDP reading. (1) Current business activity and new orders grew at a slower clip in March, although both indexes remain solidly in expansion territory at 58.9. (1)

Europe: Former prime minister Francois Fillon, under pressure after being charged with misuse of public funds, said Frances’s grinding 10 percent unemployment and massive debt combined to create an “explosive situation”. (2) Communist-backed Jean-Luc Melenchon, 65, who has been rising in the polls, came out slugging against big business, saying it should “payback”; its riches. For his part, Benoit Hamon, who is carrying the Socialist banner as Francois Hollande nears the end of a deeply unpopular presidency, vowed to “demolish”; new labor laws seen as too pro-business, and create one million jobs in the next five years. (2)

Asia: Asian economies will drive global growth this year as rising external demand and commodity prices help counter a gradual slowdown in China, according to the Asian Development Bank. (3) In its annual outlook published on Thursday, the multilateral lender said Asia excluding Japan would deliver 60 percent of worldwide economic expansion as the region’s less industrialized economies halt several years of slowdown. (3)

Latin America: “Argentina is back in the world. Argentina wants to play a role in the global scenario," President Mauricio Macri told CNN in an interview Thursday. “Argentina is in the middle of a cultural change.” (4) Macri, who took office in December 2015, has reversed the country’s economic policies to open it up to global trade after the last president, Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner, shuttered much of the economy with tariffs and protectionist policies. (4)

Monday 4/3

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.11% which had fallen more than 100 points earlier,

finished down 13.01 points, or less than 0.1%, at 20,650.21, weighed down by shares of DuPont

DD, -0.66% American Express Co.  AXP, +0.03%  and Cisco Systems Inc. CSCO, -0.03% (5)

Tuesday 4/4

The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJI) declined 13.01 points to close at 20,650.21. The S&P

500 fell 0.2% to close at 2,358.84. The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite Index closed at 5,894.68,

declining 0.3%. The fear-gauge CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) gained 0.1% to settle at 12.38. A

total of around 6.8 billion shares were traded on Monday, matching the last 20-session average.

Decliners outpaced advancing stocks on the NYSE. For 54% stocks that declined, 43%

advanced. (6)

Wednesday 4/5

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.18% which had earlier been up nearly 200 points,

closed with a loss of 41.09 points, or 0.2%, at 20,648.15, as 19 of the 30 blue-chip companies

finished lower. Shares of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.JPM, +0.11% Cisco Systems Inc. CSCO, –

0.02% and International Business Machines Corp. IBM, +0.21%  led decliners. (5)

Thursday 4/6

The Dow pulled a U-turn Wednesday, giving up a nearly 200-point gain to finish down more

than 40 points. Blame the downside reversal in stock prices on the Federal Reserve. (7)

Friday 4/7

The Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA, +0.11%  was trading up 57 points, or 0.3%, at 20,720,

with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. WMT, +1.97%  and defense contractor Boeing Co. BA, +0.58%

leading gainers. (5)

Contributor: Thomas Padula

Source:

(1) Wells Fargo Economic Group 

(2) France 24

 (3) Financial Times

 (4) NBC 2

 (5) MarketWatch 

(6) NASDAQ 

(7) USA Today

Make sense of your money