Dow climbed 316 (with buying in the last hour, it finished close to its record high), advancers over decliners better than 3-1 & NAZ gained 163. The MLP index added 2+ to the 172s & the REIT index went up 2+ to the 427s. Junk bond funds hardly budged in price & Treasuries slid slightly lower. Oil lost 1+ to the low 61s & gold rose 16 to 1794 (more on both below).
AMJ (Alerian MLP Index tracking fund)
![Live 24 hours gold chart [Kitco Inc.]](https://www.kitco.com/images/live/gold.gif?0.2180338269244485)
The federal “pause” in administering the Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) coronavirus vaccine doesn't appear to have damaged public confidence in the vaccination process, according to a survey. 53% of respondents polled in the wake of the pause agreed that it was a “good example of the rigorous safety monitoring of the COVID-19 vaccines that is in place to protect Americans.” In contrast, 29% said the pause was a case study on why the COVID-19 vaccines should be avoided. Pollster Frank Luntz conducted the poll of 1000 registered voters on Apr 15-16 for the de Beaumont Foundation, a foundation focused on public health. The survey came one week into a temporary halt on JNJ COVID-19 shots after they were linked to 8 severe blood-clot cases in the US, among 7.4M people who had received the single-dose shot as of last week. 7 of the 8 people who experienced the ultra-rare blood clots were women. About 63% of survey respondents said people should still try to get vaccinated with either the other vaccines, both 2-dose products. Meanwhile, 37% said people should slow down & wait to get vaccinated against COVID-19 while more information is gathered about the JNJ vaccine side effects. “Americans recognize the Johnson & Johnson vaccine pause for what it is — a clear sign that our safety protocols are working the way they’re supposed to,” Brian Castrucci, the de Beaumont Foundation's CEO said. “Government officials must continue to be transparent and to use clear, consistent language about the vaccines.” That's not to say no damage may have been done by the pause. Previously, one expert said the temporary halt could plant the seeds of doubt deeper for some people.
Johnson & Johnson vaccine ‘pause’ isn’t crimping confidence in the vaccination process, survey says
Gold futures finished higher for a 2nd session to mark their highest settlement in about 2 months. A rise in cases of COVID-19 from more transmissible variants, especially in Asia & Latin America, threatens the world's economic rebound from the pandemic, boosting the precious metal's appeal as a investment haven. The concerns about the disease have also kept a rise in long-term bond yields at bay, with the 10-year Treasury note yield hanging around 1.56%. Subdued gov debt yields can boost appetite for precious metals which don't offer a coupon. Jun gold gained $14 (0.8%) to settle at $1793 an ounce, after rising 0.4% yesterday. Gold prices based on the most-active contracts settled at their highest since Feb 24. Precious metals are seen as a haven against uncertainty wrought by COVID. In India, over 250K new COVID infections & over 1700 deaths were recorded in the past 24 hours & the UK. announced a travel ban on most visitors from the country this week. Outside of the US, India has the 2nd-highest number of cases at 15.6M & is 4th globally by deaths at 182K, although those numbers are likely understated.
Gold settles at a 2-month high as COVID’s rise rattles market
More than 500K new businesses opened across the US in the past year, new data from Yelp showed, as the economy recovered from the depths of the Covid pandemic. In its Economic Average Report just released & compiled from the listings on its service, Yelp saw 517K new business openings thru the last 12 months thru Mar 31, remarkably down only 11% year over year. About 28%, 146K, were in the first 3 months of 2021, down just 2% from a year earlier. “Our data shows that more new businesses opened in the U.S. during the first quarter of 2021 than at any other period over the last 12 months, providing an optimistic outlook that local economies are back on solid ground after a tumultuous year,” Yelp data science VP Justin Norman said. “After a challenging year, 2021 is off to an encouraging start for the local economy.” The data found that more than 69K new restaurants & food businesses opened in the past year. While that's down 14% from the prior year, it's still strong given those businesses were among the hardest hit by the coronavirus lockdowns in the early days of 2020 & the subsequent virus mitigation measures. “It seems like the year-over-year rise in new business openings mirrors the current housing market frenzy,” Norman said. “People are inspired to take advantage of low rents and create new jobs by putting their personal savings towards starting a new business venture.”
Yelp says more than a half million new businesses opened in the last year
Oil futures posted their lowest finish in just over a week, as traders bet that rising COVID-19 infections in Asia will hurt energy demand, and as official data revealed an unexpected weekly rise in crude inventories. The recent string of robust economic data, specifically in the US, is bullish for prices. However, the potential antitrust lawsuits against the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, for the group's oil production cap policies. The House Judiciary Committee cleared a bill, (NOPEC), that would leave OPEC open to antitrust lawsuits over production cuts. That's part of long-running efforts to make it illegal for OPEC to manipulate oil prices. The bill, however, has a long way to go before it potentially becomes a bill signed into law. West Texas Intermediate crude for Jun fell $1.32 (2.1%) to settle at $61.35 a barrel. Jun Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell $1.25 (1.9%) to $65.32 a barrel. Both benchmarks logged their lowest front-month contract settlements since Apr 13. Prices yesterday continued to move lower in the wake of the latest US petroleum supply update. The Energy Information Administration (EIA) reported that US crude inventories rose by 600K barrels for last week, following supply declines in each of the previous 3 weeks. The forecast called for a decline of 4.4M barrels for crude stocks, while the American Petroleum Institute reported a 436K-barrel climb. The EIA data also showed crude stocks at the Cushing, Okla, storage hub declined by 1.3M barrels for the week, but total domestic oil production was unchanged at 11M barrels per day. India reported a record number of cases again today, counting more than 200K for a 7th straight day. The country's hospitals are reportedly filling rapidly, with the health system running out of ICU beds & running low on oxygen. News reports said Japanese officials were considering ordering a state of emergency for Tokyo & Osaka due to surging COVID-19 cases. Also today, a report said that Pres Biden's administration has signaled its openness to easing sanctions on parts of Iran's economy as negotiations for an agreement continue.
Oil prices end at 1-week low on global COVID worries, rise in U.S. crude supplies
The US is leading the global economic recovery. But the virus has not given up the fight & is fighting back around the world. While there are bills in DC for spending, presently they are only talk. The bulls are happy with the Dow essentially at a new record.
Dow Jones Industrials
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