Dow gained 128, advancers over decliners about 5-4 & NAZ fell 10. The MLP index was off slightly in the 171s & the REIT index was fractionally higher to the 419s. Junk bond funds were mixed & Treasuries pulled back after yesterday's big advance. Oil slid back to 63 & gold climbed 13 to 1780.
AMJ (Alerian MLP index tracking fund)
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The rate of daily vaccine doses reported administered in the US held above 3M for the 9th straight yesterday, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC) , with multiple states nearing the halfway point for residents with at least one shot. At the same time, the rate of daily new Covid-19 cases nationwide remains elevated. The US is reporting 71K new infections per day, based on a 7-day average of Johns Hopkins University data, up 7% from a week ago. That's far below the nation’s winter peak of about 250K average daily new cases per day but largely in line with the summer surge. With 3.5M vaccine doses reported administered yesterday, the 7-day average of daily US shots given now stands at 3.3M. Earlier this week, White House Covid-19 Response Coordinator Jeff Zients said the pause in Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) vaccinations would not slow the pace of the US rollout & that the country has enough supply of Pfizer (PFE) & Moderna (MRNA) vaccines to continue administering 3M shots per day. About 38% of the US population has received at least one dose of a Covid vaccine & 24% is fully vaccinated, according to the CDC. The US reported 887 Covid deaths Wed & the 7-day average of daily deaths is 714. More than 565K total Covid deaths have been reported in the US as of yesterday.
U.S. maintains strong vaccination pace as some states inch toward 50% of residents with a shot
China reported Q1 domestic product a touch below expectations as industrial production disappointed but retail sales beat. GDP soared 18.3% in the first 3 months of the year from a year ago, China's National Bureau of Statistics said, slightly below expectations of a 19% increase. The surge in growth comes off a contraction in Q1 of last year, when the economy shrank by 6.8% during the height of the domestic outbreak of Covid-19. China was the first country to deal with the disease & the economy returned to growth by Q2 of last year. GDP expanded 10.3% in Q1 when compared with the same period in 2019, the statistics bureau said. China also said retail sales rose 34.2% in Mar, topping expectations of 28% growth. Industrial production rose 14.1% in Mar, missing the forecast of 17.2% growth. Slower growth in industrial production came despite more workers staying put during the Spring Festival & not traveling home for what can be a month-long holiday. The statistics bureau cautioned that the spread of Covid-19 globally & the “international landscape is complicated with high uncertainties and instabilities.” “The foundation for domestic recovery is yet to be consolidated and long-standing structural problems remain prominent with new situations and issues arising from development,” the bureau said.
China says its economy grew 18.3% in the first quarter, slightly missing expectations
The US economy is “ready to rip” but it is still too early to talk
about pulling back the central bank's support for activity, said new
Federal Reserve Board Governor Christopher Waller. He expects Q2 GDP growth to be in
the neighborhood of 8% annualized & for the year, the economy could
expand at a 6.5% rate. Over the same period, the unemployment rate should fall to the “low” 5% range while inflation should run at about 2.5% rate. He doesn't think this expected strong performance represented a
“sugar high” from the massive fiscal stimulus package passed by Congress
earlier this year. “All the fundamentals are there for the good strong growth” that was in place when the pandemic hit last year, he added. When asked if it was time to “put the brakes” on the Fed’s easy policy, Waller replied: “There is no reason to be pulling the plug.” “We’re
making up for lost ground,” he said, with more than 8M jobs
still yet to be returned after being eliminated during the pandemic. “We
still have got a long way to go,” Waller said. His comments generally
dovetail with comments from Fed Chair Jerome Powell & other policy officials.
U.S. economy ‘ready to rip,’ new Fed governor says
Investor like what they see in earnings, economic reports & news about vaccine shots. For the time being however, the bears are out there & they continue to buy gold.
Dow Jones Industrials
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