Yardeni Research President Ed Yardeni and Evercore ISI Chairman Ed Hyman provide insight into economic growth, current markets and the Federal Reserve.
US stock markets rose higher on Friday as better-than-expected jobs rose higher in February.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Alter | Alter% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ek: DJI | DOW JONES AVERAGE | 30976.99 | +52.85 | + 0.17% |
| SP500 | S&P 500 | 3762.94 | -5.53 | -0.15% |
| I: COMP | NASDAQ COMPOSITION INDEX | 12564.864251 | -158.61 | -1.25% |
The Dow Jones Industrial Average averaged 306 points, or 1%, while the S&P 500 and Nasdaq Composite climbed 0.96% and 0.84%, respectively.
US economy adds ROBUST 379,000 NEW WORKS
According to the Department of Labor, the U.S. economy added 379,000 jobs in February as the unemployment rate rose to 6.2%. Economists surveyed by Refinitiv expected the addition of 182,000 jobs as the unemployment rate would remain constant at 6.3%.
The strong report led to the 10-year yield climbing to 1.63%, the highest level in a year, before easing. At that level, the 10-year return is above the S&P 500’s dividend yield.
Friday’s protest comes a day after Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said the central bank would remain patient if inflation returned. This has led to a rise in bond yields, which has led equities, particularly growth stocks, to push the Nasdaq Composite to the brink of a correction, or by at least 10% lower than the recent high.
In equities, technology names that are sensitive to a continued rise in bond yields remain under scrutiny.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Alter | Alter% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| QQQ | INVESCO QQQ NASDAQ 100 | 301.05 | -3.05 | -1.00% |
| MSFT | MICROSOFT CORP. | 227.38 | +0.65 | + 0.28% |
| AAPL | APPLE, INC. | 118.91 | -1.22 | -1.02% |
| AMZN | AMAZON.COM, INC. | 2 944,97 | -32.60 | -1.09% |
Meanwhile, Chevron Corp. has agreed to buy the remaining shares of Noble Midstream Partners MP that it does not yet own in a deal valued at $ 1.32 billion by the pipeline operator. Noble Midstream shareholders will receive 0.1393 Chevron shares for every Noble Midstream unit they own.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Alter | Alter% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CVX | CHEVRON CORP. | 107.08 | +2.63 | + 2.52% |
| NBLX | NOBLE MIDSTREAM PARTNERS LP | 14.82 | -0.23 | -1.53% |
In earnings, Costco. Co reported stronger-than-expected quarterly revenue as online sales rose 76% year-on-year as the store-from-home trend continued amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Earnings, meanwhile, fell less as costs rose due to wage increases for frontline workers.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Alter | Alter% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| COST | COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP. | 310.33 | -8.71 | -2.73% |
The forecast of Gap Inc. will normalize to pre-pandemic levels in the second half of the year as people return to the office. The retailer sees sales increase by a medium to high teen percentage compared to 2020.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Alter | Alter% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GPS | GAP | 27.03 | +1.73 | + 6.84% |
Elsewhere, Virgin Galactic Holdings Inc. chairman Chamath Palihapitiya sold his entire personal stake in the company for $ 213 million. Palihapitiya and its partner Ian Osborne still own a 6.5% stake in investment firm Social Capital Hedosophia.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Alter | Alter% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SPCE | VIRGIN GALACTIC HOLDINGS INC. | 25.40 | -4.84 | -16.00% |
Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. announced plans for a 47.58 million share offering. The cruise line operator plans to use the proceeds to pay off debt.
| Ticker | Safety | Last | Alter | Alter% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NCLH | NORWEGIAN CRUISE LINE HOLDINGS LTD. | 28.07 | -4.79 | -14.57% |
In commodities, West Texas Intermediate crude rose $ 1.86 to $ 65.69 a barrel, while gold added $ 3.90 to $ 1,704.60.
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Overseas 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 0.74%.
Asian markets all lost ground with the Hong Kong Hang Seng Index up 0.47%, the Japanese Nikkei 225 up 0.23% and the Chinese Shanghai Composite up 0.04%.