Dow jumped up 991, advancers over decliners a very big 12-1 & NAZ advanced 146. The MLP index added 2+ to the 95s & the REIT index surged 15+ to 301. Junk bond funds rose in price along with stocks & Treasuries remained in strong demand. Oil dropped 1+ to the 26s (more below) & gold surged 43 to 1688.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
The economic pain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is just starting to be felt by the world's largest economy & it will be the most severe of the post-war era. US employers shed 701K jobs in Mar & the unemployment rate climbed to 4.4%, the Labor Dept said Fri, as non-essential businesses were forced to temporarily close their doors to help slow the spread of COVID-19. The virus has infected 1.1M people worldwide & led to more than 60K deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University & Medicine. The dismal jobs report snapped the streak of monthly gains that had been in place since 2010 & was just a preview of what's ahead. COVID-19 has forced states across the country to issue "stay-at-home" orders, limiting customer traffic even for businesses deemed essential & allowed to stay open. The full extent of the economic damage caused by the pandemic remains unknown, but economists expect the fallout to be severe as the jobs report did not include the roughly 10M Americans who filed for first-time unemployment benefits over the past 2 weeks.
Oil prices fell , reversing earlier gains after the CEO of Russian sovereign wealth fund RDIF said that Moscow & Riyadh were “very close” to an oil deal. Intl benchmark Brent crude futures traded 2.7% lower at $33.20 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate futures fell 5.6% to trade at $26.75 per barrel. “I think the whole market understands that this deal is important and it will bring lots of stability, so much important stability to the market, and we are very close,” Kirill Dmitriev of the Russian Direct Investment Fund said. Oil prices edged into positive territory shortly after Dmitriev's optimistic comments, but have since pared those gains. The Dept of Energy said that Secretary Brouillette participated in a “productive discussion” with Saudi Arabia's energy minister about the “ongoing challenges and instability in global oil markets” & the 2 energy ministers agreed to “continue this dialogue through a G20 Energy Ministers meeting in the near future.” Earlier, US crude futures fell more than 10% after a meeting between OPEC & its allies, initially scheduled for today, was delayed. The postponement stoked fears that a production cut might face hurdles. Oil surged last week — WTI & Brent are both coming off their best week on record — as Saudi Arabia called a meeting between OPEC & its allies (OPEC+), signaling there could be progress on a production cut. The organization's Mar meeting ended with no deal after Russia rejected the 1.5M barrels per day cut that Saudi Arabia had proposed in a bid to prop up falling oil prices as the coronavirus outbreak sapped demand. This kicked off a price war between the 2 powerhouse producers.
Oil prices turn lower despite hints Russia and Saudi Arabia are ‘very close’ to a deal
US Surgeon General Jerome Adams said that this upcoming week is going to be the most difficult moment of the coronavirus epidemic. "This is going to be the hardest and saddest week of most American's lives," Adams said. "This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment, only it's not going to be localized. It's going to be happening all over the country." Adams pointed out, however, that the public, along with the state & the federal govt, has the power to "change the trajectory of this epidemic" as long as they follow the administration's social distancing guidelines, which Pres Trump has now extended until Apr 30. "As hard as this week is going to be, there is a light at the end of the tunnel if everyone does their part for the next 30 days," he said. It was noted that the director of the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases & member of the Trump administration's coronavirus task force Dr Anthony Fauci supports invoking a national stay-at-home order to help mitigate the spread of the virus, but so far Pres Trump has been reluctant to do so. Currently, 9 states have not yet issued a stay-at-home order: Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah & Wyoming. Adams argues that people across the country are already doing the right thing, even without a national stay-at-home order. "It's important to understand that most people across the country are doing the right thing," he said. "Over 90 percent of the country is staying at home and a good proportion, more than average, are staying home even in those nine states." Adams added the national social distancing guidelines put out by the administration to slow the spread of the coronavirus are "essentially our national stay at home order" & that the administration is working with governors to figure out how to best serve their individual needs.
Optimism is high by investors with hopes that the fight against coronavirus is going better. Even if that turns out to be the case, more dreary numbers are coming & lock-down conditions will largely remain in place for some time. For example, the unemployment claims for jobs on Thurs is all but guaranteed to be dreadful. Oil, key in the global economy, has a ton of problems with excess production while demand is falling. The bulls will have major challenges to keep this rally going & negative thinking investors are buying a lot of gold & Treasuries.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
| CL=F | Crude Oil | 26.97 | -1.37 | -4.8% |
| GC=F | Gold | 1,690.50 | +44.80 | +2.7% |
The economic pain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic is just starting to be felt by the world's largest economy & it will be the most severe of the post-war era. US employers shed 701K jobs in Mar & the unemployment rate climbed to 4.4%, the Labor Dept said Fri, as non-essential businesses were forced to temporarily close their doors to help slow the spread of COVID-19. The virus has infected 1.1M people worldwide & led to more than 60K deaths, according to Johns Hopkins University & Medicine. The dismal jobs report snapped the streak of monthly gains that had been in place since 2010 & was just a preview of what's ahead. COVID-19 has forced states across the country to issue "stay-at-home" orders, limiting customer traffic even for businesses deemed essential & allowed to stay open. The full extent of the economic damage caused by the pandemic remains unknown, but economists expect the fallout to be severe as the jobs report did not include the roughly 10M Americans who filed for first-time unemployment benefits over the past 2 weeks.
Unemployment filing tips during coronavirus pandemic
Oil prices fell , reversing earlier gains after the CEO of Russian sovereign wealth fund RDIF said that Moscow & Riyadh were “very close” to an oil deal. Intl benchmark Brent crude futures traded 2.7% lower at $33.20 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate futures fell 5.6% to trade at $26.75 per barrel. “I think the whole market understands that this deal is important and it will bring lots of stability, so much important stability to the market, and we are very close,” Kirill Dmitriev of the Russian Direct Investment Fund said. Oil prices edged into positive territory shortly after Dmitriev's optimistic comments, but have since pared those gains. The Dept of Energy said that Secretary Brouillette participated in a “productive discussion” with Saudi Arabia's energy minister about the “ongoing challenges and instability in global oil markets” & the 2 energy ministers agreed to “continue this dialogue through a G20 Energy Ministers meeting in the near future.” Earlier, US crude futures fell more than 10% after a meeting between OPEC & its allies, initially scheduled for today, was delayed. The postponement stoked fears that a production cut might face hurdles. Oil surged last week — WTI & Brent are both coming off their best week on record — as Saudi Arabia called a meeting between OPEC & its allies (OPEC+), signaling there could be progress on a production cut. The organization's Mar meeting ended with no deal after Russia rejected the 1.5M barrels per day cut that Saudi Arabia had proposed in a bid to prop up falling oil prices as the coronavirus outbreak sapped demand. This kicked off a price war between the 2 powerhouse producers.
Oil prices turn lower despite hints Russia and Saudi Arabia are ‘very close’ to a deal
US Surgeon General Jerome Adams said that this upcoming week is going to be the most difficult moment of the coronavirus epidemic. "This is going to be the hardest and saddest week of most American's lives," Adams said. "This is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment, our 9/11 moment, only it's not going to be localized. It's going to be happening all over the country." Adams pointed out, however, that the public, along with the state & the federal govt, has the power to "change the trajectory of this epidemic" as long as they follow the administration's social distancing guidelines, which Pres Trump has now extended until Apr 30. "As hard as this week is going to be, there is a light at the end of the tunnel if everyone does their part for the next 30 days," he said. It was noted that the director of the National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases & member of the Trump administration's coronavirus task force Dr Anthony Fauci supports invoking a national stay-at-home order to help mitigate the spread of the virus, but so far Pres Trump has been reluctant to do so. Currently, 9 states have not yet issued a stay-at-home order: Arkansas, Iowa, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah & Wyoming. Adams argues that people across the country are already doing the right thing, even without a national stay-at-home order. "It's important to understand that most people across the country are doing the right thing," he said. "Over 90 percent of the country is staying at home and a good proportion, more than average, are staying home even in those nine states." Adams added the national social distancing guidelines put out by the administration to slow the spread of the coronavirus are "essentially our national stay at home order" & that the administration is working with governors to figure out how to best serve their individual needs.
Surgeon general: This will be 'hardest and saddest week' for most Americans
Optimism is high by investors with hopes that the fight against coronavirus is going better. Even if that turns out to be the case, more dreary numbers are coming & lock-down conditions will largely remain in place for some time. For example, the unemployment claims for jobs on Thurs is all but guaranteed to be dreadful. Oil, key in the global economy, has a ton of problems with excess production while demand is falling. The bulls will have major challenges to keep this rally going & negative thinking investors are buying a lot of gold & Treasuries.
Dow Jones Industrials
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