Dow gained 250, advancers over decliners an impressive 5-1 & NAZ soared 237. The MLP index rose 3+ to the 188s & the REIT index gained 4+ to the 423s. Junk bond funds traded higher & Treasures were sold, bringing higher yields (more below). Oil went up 1+ to the 65s & gold jumped 13 to 1837.
AMJ (Alerian MLP index tracking fund)
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Retail sales, a measure of spending at restaurants, stores & online, totaled $620B, according to the Commerce Dept, up fractionally from last month's reading of $619.8B. The forecast expected an increase of 1%. The flat reading follows an upwardly revised 10.7% increase for Mar, which was bolstered by Pres Biden sending $1400 checks to most Americans. It also comes as consumers grappled with higher prices for items such as food & used cars as consumer prices posted their fastest annual increase in nearly 13 years. Still, sales rose 51.2% from a year ago, as the economy continued to gather strength with more states reopening from their COVID-19 lockdowns. Clothing & clothing accessories stores reported a 727% year over year increase, while food services & drinking places sales were up 117%. Excluding autos, retail sales declined 0.8%, missing the 0.7% increase that was anticipated.
Retail sales flat in April, missing estimates
India's total Covid-19 cases crossed 24M as the country fights a devastating 2nd wave of infections that has overwhelmed its health-care system. Gov data showed there were 343K new reported cases over a 24-hour period, where at least 4K people died. It was the 3rd consecutive day where the official death toll was 4K or higher. Still, daily cases have stayed below the record 414K figure reported on May 7 but the pressure has not yet eased off hospitals. Reports also suggest that the virus is making rounds in rural India, where experts have said the health-care system is not designed to cope with a surge in cases. A professor from the Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur said that daily cases in India may have peaked. Agrawal co-authored a mathematic model for pandemics called SUTRA (Susceptible, Undetected, Tested (positive), & Removed Approach) with 2 scientists to predict the spread of the coronavirus. Previously, the model predicted India's 2nd wave would peak by the 3rd week of Apr & that daily cases would likely stay around 100. Apr was India’s worst month so far with nearly 7M cases officially reported, while more than 48K people died. Experts have said the actual tally is likely much higher. The scientists behind SUTRA then said the model's shortcomings were due to the changing nature of the Covid-19 virus.
India reports over 343,000 new cases, professor says infection may have peaked
Treasury yields fell after retail sales data for Apr showed no growth after a big jump in Mar. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note slipped to 1.64% while the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond dipped to 2.365%. Yields move inversely to prices. Yields eased back after having spiked following a higher-than-expected inflation reading on Wed. The Apr Consumer Price Index rose 4.2%, its biggest year-on-year increase since 2008 & well above the 3.6% expected by economists. However, Treasury yields shook off yesterday's higher-than-expected Producer Price Index reading, a more indirect indicator of inflation. Apr's PPI rose 0.6% on the previous month, above the 0.3% expected growth & jumped 6.2% year-on-year, well above a forecast of 3.8%. Industrial production in Apr rose 0.7%, according to the a report from the Fed. The forecast called for a rise of 0.8%.
Treasury yields fall after retail sales data
The bears went home yesterday & are still in hiding. This week the stock market has been highly volatile & those conditions should continue. The Dow is up 400 in May.
Dow Jones Industrials
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