( The Closing Bell will be updated sometime after 4:00 PM CDST to include the latest updates from IBD and Bloomberg Evening Briefing.)
Reminder: Major U.S. exchanges will be closed on Good Friday, while the most-watched European markets will be closed on both Good Friday and Easter Monday.
In Asia, the Singapore Stock Exchange will be closed, while exchanges in Japan and China will be open. Currency markets will remain open.
The S&P 500 rose Thursday, as industrial stocks powered the broad index higher to recoup an earlier loss following better-than-expected earnings reports from several manufacturers.
Upbeat profit reports from tool maker Snap-On and United Rentals pushed industrial stocks in the S&P 500 up more than 1%, while shares of health-care companies regained much of their losses from earlier in the session. Adding to the market’s optimism was new data showing a rebound in retail spending and continued strength in the U.S. labor market.
The S&P 500 rose 0.16% , while the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 110 points, or 0.42%, climbing to 26559. The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.2%.
Thursday’s moves left all three major indexes on track to finish the holiday-shortened week higher. Stock and bond markets in the U.S. will be closed for the Good Friday holiday, reopening on Monday, while most major European stock exchanges will remain closed for both days.
Of the 23 companies in the S&P 500 to report results so far, nearly 83% have beaten analysts’ expectations, compared with about 69% in the fourth quarter, according to data from FactSet. The bar is significantly lower, however, after steep downgrades to 2019 earnings forecasts in recent months.
In Asia, Hong Kong’s Hang Seng fell 0.6%, while Japan’s Nikkei was down 0.8%.
Of the eleven S&P 500 Sectors led by Industrials and Real Estate seven were in positive territory. Energy led the four losers.
FYI:
Regards,
Ted
Bloomberg Evening Briefing:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-18/your-evening-briefingMarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/stock-index-futures-edge-lower-as-investors-sift-earnings-await-retail-sales-data-2019-04-18/printWSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-follow-wall-street-lower-11555573761Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-17/asian-stocks-set-for-muted-open-treasuries-steady-markets-wrap?srnd=premiumIBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/stocks-reverse-higher-pinterest-stock-goes-public/Reuters:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/wall-street-edges-higher-on-industrial-gains-healthcare-drags-again-idUSKCN1RU1C3CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/18/stocks-market-earnings-retail-sales-and-jobless-data-in-focus.htmlU.K.:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/ftse-100-dips-on-sluggish-euro-zone-pmi-unilever-sparkles-idUKKCN1RU0REEurope:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/european-shares-rise-as-short-covering-earnings-help-temper-tepid-pmis-idUSKCN1RU12UAsia:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/18/asia-markets-earnings-us-china-trade-currencies-in-focus.htmlBonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/18/treasury-yields-move-lower-ahead-of-jobless-data.htmlCurrencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/18/forex-market-global-economy-manufacturing-pmi-in-focus.htmlOil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/18/oil-market-us-crude-inventories-in-focus.htmlGold
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/18/gold-market-global-economy-manufacturing-activity-in-focus.htmlWSJ: Markets At A Glance:
https://markets.wsj.com/usMajor ETFs % Change:
https://www.barchart.com/etfs-funds/etf-monitorSPDR's Sector Tracker:
http://www.sectorspdr.com/sectorspdr/tools/sector-trackerSPDR's Bloomberg Sector Performance Pie Chart:
https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/sectorsCurrent Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx 
