Dow rose 323, advancers over decliners about 4-1 & NAZ gained 115. The MLP index added 1+ to the 127s & the REIT index went up 6 to 324. Junk bond funds continued strong & Treasuries were back in demand. Oil advanced 1+ to the 25s (more below) & gold jumped 12 to 1700.
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
The US economy faces a slow recovery from the coronavirus pandemic without an effective vaccine or treatment for the disease, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank Pres Neel Kashkari said. "I think we have to prepare for a more gradual recovery while we hope for that quicker rebound," Kashkari added. Kashkari is a voting member of the rate-setting FOMC this year. Even as some states move to roll back the strict stay-at-home measures they adopted earlier this year to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, Kashkari said social distancing will likely continue to hamper businesses until a vaccine is widely available. "Take movie theaters," he said. "When are we all going to feel safe to go sit in a crowded movie theater with a couple other hundred strangers around us? It's hard for me to see that. I like to go to movies. I doubt I'm going to go back to a movie until we actually have a vaccine or therapy." And while some businesses are able to more easily adapt to social distancing guidelines, Kashkari said the lack of customers could hurt their bottom lines, pointing to restaurants that have proposed seating customers at every other table. And while some businesses are able to more easily adapt to social distancing guidelines, Kashkari said the lack of customers could hurt their bottom lines, pointing to restaurants that have proposed seating customers at every other table. "I don't know how many restaurants can make ends meet if they are serving half as many customers," he said. "Unfortunately, the recovery looks like it's going to be slow." The central bank has responded to the crisis by unleashing its full firepower to support the economy, including slashing interest rates to near-zero, purchasing an unlimited amount of Treasuries (quantitative easing) & launching crisis-era lending facilities to ensure that credit flows to households & businesses. During the FOMC's Apr rate-setting meeting last week, policymakers pledged that interest rates will remain near zero until the US has weathered the crisis. "The ongoing public health crisis will weigh heavily on economic activity, employment, and inflation in the near term, and poses considerable risks to the economic outlook over the medium term," the FOMC said.
Oil prices surged after Chinese data showed a rebound in crude imports. Beijing imported 42.8M tons of crude oil in Apr (the equivalent of 10.4M barrels) per day based on gov data. That represented a 7.6% increase from Mar, but was below the 10.6M barrels from Apr 2019. West Texas Intermediate crude oil, the US benchmark, climbed 10% to $26.34 per barrel while Brent crude, the intl standard was up 6.3% at $31.59. Crude prices snapped their 5-day winning streak yesterday as US inventories swelled for a 15th consecutive week. Stockpiles rose 4.6M barrels last week, according to the Energy Information Administration, less than the 7.8M that was expected. The winning streak, which came as states started easing “stay-at-home” orders & as the world's largest producers began implementing output cuts, ignited a 115% increase in WTI prices & a 36% jump in Brent prices. Oil traders will get a glimpse into the health of the US economy tomorrow when the Apr jobs report is released. Higher unemployment means fewer workers commuting & weaker demand for oil & byproducts like gasoline & jet fuel.
Buyers arrived at the opening & continued to support to the advance even though the economic data is dreary. The Dow has been trending sideways near 24K for about 4 weeks. News has been grim but the bulls have been encouraging investors to buy stocks for long term gains.
Dow Jones Industrials
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
| CL=F | Crude Oil | 25.88 | + 1.89 | +7.9% |
| GC=F | Gold | 1,701.00 | +12.50 | +0.7% |
Unemployment rolls continued to swell in the US
last week, though jobless claims hit their lowest level since the
economy went into lockdown made to battle the coronavirus pandemic. First-time
filings for unemployment insurance hit 3.2M last week, bringing
the total to 33.5M over the past 7 weeks, the Labor
Dept reported. The total was slightly higher than the
3.1M expected & below the
previous week’s 3.8M, which was revised up by 7K. Though
the numbers remain stark, it was the lowest total since the 2nd week
of Mar, shortly after the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus strain a pandemic. The 4-week moving average, which smooths volatility in the numbers,
slid to 4.1M, a decrease of 861K from the previous week's
average & a further indicator that the worst of the jobs news may be
over. Numbers not adjusted for seasonality showed a total of 2.8M claims, a decrease of 646K (18.5%) from the previous week. The unadjusted numbers may be more relevant for the
current unprecedented situation as they are not as affected by seasonal
factors. The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs,
unadjusted, totaled 2.8M last week, a
decrease of 646K from the previous week. However,
continuing claims, or those who have filed within at least the last 2
weeks & are still on the rolls, rose 4.6M to 22.6M. There was another indication that the jobs picture will remain difficult. Outplacement
firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported that announced layoff
intentions from companies in Apr jumped to 671K, the highest number
since tracking began in 1993.
US weekly jobless claims total 3.169 million, bringing seven-week tally to 33.5 million
The US economy faces a slow recovery from the coronavirus pandemic without an effective vaccine or treatment for the disease, Minneapolis Federal Reserve Bank Pres Neel Kashkari said. "I think we have to prepare for a more gradual recovery while we hope for that quicker rebound," Kashkari added. Kashkari is a voting member of the rate-setting FOMC this year. Even as some states move to roll back the strict stay-at-home measures they adopted earlier this year to mitigate the spread of COVID-19, Kashkari said social distancing will likely continue to hamper businesses until a vaccine is widely available. "Take movie theaters," he said. "When are we all going to feel safe to go sit in a crowded movie theater with a couple other hundred strangers around us? It's hard for me to see that. I like to go to movies. I doubt I'm going to go back to a movie until we actually have a vaccine or therapy." And while some businesses are able to more easily adapt to social distancing guidelines, Kashkari said the lack of customers could hurt their bottom lines, pointing to restaurants that have proposed seating customers at every other table. And while some businesses are able to more easily adapt to social distancing guidelines, Kashkari said the lack of customers could hurt their bottom lines, pointing to restaurants that have proposed seating customers at every other table. "I don't know how many restaurants can make ends meet if they are serving half as many customers," he said. "Unfortunately, the recovery looks like it's going to be slow." The central bank has responded to the crisis by unleashing its full firepower to support the economy, including slashing interest rates to near-zero, purchasing an unlimited amount of Treasuries (quantitative easing) & launching crisis-era lending facilities to ensure that credit flows to households & businesses. During the FOMC's Apr rate-setting meeting last week, policymakers pledged that interest rates will remain near zero until the US has weathered the crisis. "The ongoing public health crisis will weigh heavily on economic activity, employment, and inflation in the near term, and poses considerable risks to the economic outlook over the medium term," the FOMC said.
Fed prez: US economy faces slow recovery from coronavirus until this happens
Oil prices surged after Chinese data showed a rebound in crude imports. Beijing imported 42.8M tons of crude oil in Apr (the equivalent of 10.4M barrels) per day based on gov data. That represented a 7.6% increase from Mar, but was below the 10.6M barrels from Apr 2019. West Texas Intermediate crude oil, the US benchmark, climbed 10% to $26.34 per barrel while Brent crude, the intl standard was up 6.3% at $31.59. Crude prices snapped their 5-day winning streak yesterday as US inventories swelled for a 15th consecutive week. Stockpiles rose 4.6M barrels last week, according to the Energy Information Administration, less than the 7.8M that was expected. The winning streak, which came as states started easing “stay-at-home” orders & as the world's largest producers began implementing output cuts, ignited a 115% increase in WTI prices & a 36% jump in Brent prices. Oil traders will get a glimpse into the health of the US economy tomorrow when the Apr jobs report is released. Higher unemployment means fewer workers commuting & weaker demand for oil & byproducts like gasoline & jet fuel.
Crude prices spike as Chinese demand snaps back
Buyers arrived at the opening & continued to support to the advance even though the economic data is dreary. The Dow has been trending sideways near 24K for about 4 weeks. News has been grim but the bulls have been encouraging investors to buy stocks for long term gains.
Dow Jones Industrials
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