The Closing Bell: Stocks Rise After Strong GDP Report: Record High Close For S&P And Nasdaq

Ted

The Closing Bell will be updated sometime after 4:00 PM CDST to include the latest updates from IBD and Bloomberg Evening Briefing.)

FYI: U.S. stocks swung between small gains and losses Friday after figures showed the U.S. economy grew at a strong rate in the first quarter but the pace of consumer and business spending slowed.

The S&P 500 inched up 0.47% and had another weekly advance. The broad equity gauge closed at record high, and is up 17% for the year. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 0.30% after entering the day 1.4% below last year’s record.

Renewed confidence in the U.S. economy has helped markets rebound from last year’s slide, with the Federal Reserve signaling it is unlikely to raise interest rates this year and the U.S. and China moving toward an agreement to end their tariff fight.

Data Friday showed gross domestic product rose more than economists expected in the first quarter, lifted by an increase in the rate of exports.

The tech-laden Nasdaq Composite rose 0.34% and, like the S&P 500, closed at an all time high.

Although the pace of consumer and business spending weakened, some investors expect a trade deal between the world’s two largest economies to spur further earnings and economic growth moving forward.

The U.S. and China are set to resume negotiations next week in Beijing as they seek to wrap up a trade agreement.

The yield on the benchmark 10-year U.S. Treasury note dropped to 2.507%, according to Tradeweb, from 2.536% a day earlier. Bond yields fall as prices rise, though they have recovered since hitting their lowest level since December 2017 last month with investors embracing assets considered riskier than ultrasafe Treasurys.

The WSJ Dollar Index, which tracks the dollar against a basket of 16 other currencies, fell 0.2%, inching down further from Wednesday’s five-month high.

Amazon shares rose 1.7% after the e-commerce giant said that profit more than doubled last quarter and that it plans to make one-day free shipping the standard for Prime members.

Energy stocks broadly fell after President Trump said he had once again encouraged the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to increase supply and keep oil prices low. U.S. crude tumbled 3.5%, after earlier in the week climbing to its highest level since late October.

Elsewhere, the Stoxx Europe 600 was up 0.2%.

In Asia, the Shanghai Composite fell 1.2%; Korea’s benchmark Kospi index dropped 0.5%; and Japan’s Nikkei lost 0.2%
Regards,
Ted
Bloomberg Evening Briefing:
https://www.bloomberg.com/search?query=Evening Briefing

MarketWatch:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/dow-sp-500-futures-slip-ahead-of-us-gdp-but-tech-set-to-extend-gains-2019-04-26/print

WSJ:
https://www.wsj.com/articles/global-stocks-soften-ahead-of-u-s-gdp-data-11556266432

Bloomberg:
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-04-25/asian-stocks-set-for-mixed-open-dollar-steadies-markets-wrap?srnd=premium

IBD:
https://www.investors.com/market-trend/stock-market-today/dow-jones-nasdaq-positive-stock-market-shakes-off-intel-plunge/

CNBC:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/26/stock-market-gdp-data-and-corporate-earnings-in-focus-on-wall-street.html

Reuters:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/us-usa-stocks/tech-stocks-weigh-on-wall-street-after-weak-intel-results-idUKKCN1S2163

U.K.:
https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-britain-stocks/glencore-probe-weak-earnings-mar-ftse-100-ferrexpo-sinks-idUKKCN1S20OR

Europe:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-europe-stocks/european-shares-get-a-lift-from-strong-earnings-u-s-gdp-idUSKCN1S20ZY

Asia:
https://www.marketwatch.com/story/asian-markets-mostly-fall-after-dow-oil-prices-pull-back-2019-04-25/print

Bonds:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/26/us-treasurys-higher-ahead-of-gdp-data.html

Currencies:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/26/forex-market-us-gdp-data-dovish-central-banks-in-focus.html

Oil:
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/26/oil-market-opec-output-rises-us-sanctions-on-iranian-oil-in-focus.html

Gold
https://www.cnbc.com/2019/04/26/gold-market-us-gdp-data-german-economic-data-in-focus.html

WSJ: Markets At A Glance:
https://markets.wsj.com/us

Major ETFs % Change:
https://www.barchart.com/etfs-funds/etf-monitor

SPDR's Sector Tracker:
http://www.sectorspdr.com/sectorspdr/tools/sector-tracker

SPDR's Bloomberg Sector Performance Pie Chart:
https://www.bloomberg.com/markets/sectors

Current Futures:
https://finviz.com/futures.ashx

hank

The party continues. Fund inflows have been rising along with the stock market. But I find it hard to find sane observers who believe this is going to end well.

Weird day in that oil corrected sharply (down around 3%) while gold reversed its recent slide and jumped 10 bucks or so. Suspect many other commodities rose as well, since my PRNEX (heavy energy) backslid only slightly (off 0.12% for the day). Other commodities apparently compensated for the losses in oil.

Personally: No changes in several months. Remain well diversified and conservatively positioned. But I do kinda wonder what @Puddenhead and the smart money here is doing?
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(Folks, please remember to start a new thread if you decide to share any recent changes to your positioning.)