U.S. equities move into the year-to-date lead. The S&P 500 Index has returned 1.5% year to date, moving ahead of the MSCI EAFE Index’s 0.9% return and the modest 0.7% loss for the MSCI Emerging Markets (EM) Index.
The threat of China selling a portion of its $1.2 trillion in Treasury holdings in response to the recent ratcheting up of trade tensions makes for good headlines, but may not be a prudent decision.
Small business optimism remains at highs. While the NFIB Small Business Index, a measure of business trends and owners’ confidence, registered a marginal gain month over month in April, confidence remains at record highs.
As the calendar turns to May, it also means the current economic expansion is now 107 months old, officially marking the second-longest since World War II (WWII).
Earnings season has been a success by virtually any measure, with an impressive upside surprise, very strong growth, and positive guidance overall.
It was another choppy week of trading for major U.S. indexes as investors digested several high profile events.
The great American naturalist Edwin Way Teale wrote, “The world’s favorite season is the spring. All things seem possible in May.”
The closely watched nonfarm payrolls report, released this morning, showed the U.S. economy created fewer jobs than expected (164k versus 190k) but the overall employment level ticked higher .
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The post-meeting statement added another mention of the inflation target being “symmetric” in that members would tolerate inflation slightly above or below the 2% target.