Yardeni Research President Ed Yardeni and Evercore ISI President Ed Hyman provide information on economic growth, current markets and the Federal Reserve.
US stock markets charged higher on Friday, as the better-than-expected job report in February raised bond yields.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I: DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGE | 31080.32 | +156.18 | + 0.51% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 3779.24 | +10.77 | + 0.29% |
| I: COMP | NASDAQ COMPOUND INDEX | 12674.56251 | -48.91 | -0.38% |
The Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 306 points, or 1%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite were up 0.96% and 0.84%, respectively.
The US economy created 379,000 jobs in February, with the unemployment rate dropping to 6.2%, according to the Department of Labor. Economists consulted by Refinitiv predicted the addition of 182,000 jobs as the unemployment rate remained stable at 6.3%.
The strong report caused the 10-year yield to rise to 1.63%, its highest level in a year, before declining. At that level, the 10-year yield is above the dividend yield of the S&P 500.
Friday’s recovery comes a day after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank would remain patient if inflation returned. This caused bond yields to rise, which led to the sale of stocks, especially growth stocks, bringing the Nasdaq Composite to the brink of correction, or at least 10% below its recent peak.
In stocks, technology names sensitive to a steady increase in bond yields remain under scrutiny.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QQQ | INVESCO QQQ NASDAQ 100 | 304.21 | +0.12 | + 0.04% |
| MSFT | MICROSOFT CORP. | 229.31 | +2.58 | + 1.14% |
| AAPL | APPLE, INC. | 119.80 | -0.33 | -0.27% |
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM, INC. | 2,976.99 | -0.58 | -0.02% |
Meanwhile, Chevron Corp. agreed to buy the remaining shares of Noble Midstream Partners LP that it did not yet own, in a deal that values the pipeline operator at $ 1.32 billion. Noble Midstream shareholders will receive 0.1393 Chevron shares for each Noble Midstream unit they own.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVX | CHEVRON CORP. | 107.81 | +3.36 | + 3.22% |
In recipe, Costco. Co. reported stronger-than-expected quarterly revenue, as online sales increased 76% year-over-year as the home shopping trend continued amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The gains, however, fell short of estimates, as costs increased as a result of wage increases for frontline workers.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COST | COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP. | 309.77 | -9.27 | -2.91% |
Gap Inc. predicts that sales will normalize to pre-pandemic levels in the second half of the year, as people return to the office. The retailer notes that sales increase by a percentage of teenagers from mid to high compared to 2020.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPS | GAP = GO | 27.05 | +1.75 | + 6.92% |
Elsewhere, the president of Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc., Chamath Palihapitiya, sold all of his personal stake in the company for $ 213 million. Palihapitiya and his partner Ian Osborne still own a 6.5% stake through the investment firm Social Capital Hedosophia.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPCE | VIRGIN GALACTIC HOLDINGS INC. | 27.56 | -2.68 | -8.86% |
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. announced plans to offer 47.58 million shares. The cruise line operator plans to use the proceeds to pay off debts.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCLH | NORWAY CRUISE LINE HOLDINGS LTD. | 28.87 | -3.98 | -12.12% |
In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude rose $ 1.86 to $ 65.69 a barrel, while gold totaled $ 3.90 to $ 1,704.60.
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Foreign markets were mixed.
In Europe, Germany’s DAX 30 fell 0.02%, while France’s CAC 40 rose 0.01% and Britain’s FTSE 100 outperformed, advancing 0.74%.
Asian markets lost ground with the Hong Kong Hang Seng index falling 0.47%, Japan’s Nikkei 225 falling 0.23% and China’s Shanghai Composite falling 0.04%.