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Source: Copyright © 2021 Kalkine Media Pty Ltd.
The S&P 500 and Dow Jones indexes rallied to new highs on Thursday, April 15, 2021, following the increased consumer spending data for March. Fewer unemployment claims and strong first-quarter earnings by Citigroup, BlackRock and PepsiCo also boosted to the U.S. stock market.
The S&P 500 grew 1.11 percent to 4,170.42. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.90 percent to 34,035.99. The NASDAQ Composite Index rose 1.31 percent to 14,038.76, while the small-cap Russell 2000 rose 0.42 percent to 2,257.07.
The advance retail and food services sales in the U.S. jumped 9.8 percent during March, compared to February, according to the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau. Spending was more at sporting goods, hobby, musical instrument and book stores, food services and drinking places and motor vehicle and parts dealers.
The U.S. Department of Labor said jobless claims during the week ended April 10 declined by 193,000 claims to 576,000 from the previous week’s figure. The four week moving average was 683,000, the lowest since March 14, 2020 when it was 225,500.
JP Morgan, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs kick a strong earnings season yesterday.
On Thursday. Citigroup reported strong earnings for the first-quarter, in which the company’s net income soared to US$7.94 billion from US$2.54 billion in the year-ago period. Citigroup also announced that it will exit consumer business in 13 countries across Asia and Europe, the Middle East and Africa.
Asset management company BlackRock posted a 49 percent year- over-year growth in its first-quarter profit to US$1.20 billion. BlackRock’s asset under management totaled US$9 trillion during the quarter, up 39 percent. Revenue rose 19 percent year over year to US$4.39 billion.
PepsiCo’s first quarter net income increased to US$1.71 billion from US$1.34 billion in the year-ago period. Net revenue grew 6.8 percent year over year to US$14.82 billion.
Meanwhile, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla reportedly said people would likely need a third dose of Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine within six to twelve months. Bourla also reportedly said people might have to get vaccinated annually.
©Kalkine Group 2021.
Top Gainers
Top performers on S&P 500 included Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (5.68%), NVIDIA Corp. (5.63%), Xilinx Inc. (5.25%) and Newmont Corporation (4.74%)
Trevena Inc. (31.58%), Wilhelmina International Inc. (29.81%), Kaspien Holdings Inc. (19.44%) and Plby Group Inc. (15.83%) were top performers on NASDAQ.
On Dow Jones, UnitedHealth Group Inc. (3.83%), Amgen Inc. (2.21%), Salesforce.Com Inc. (2.18%) and Visa Inc. (1.94%) gained the most.
Top Losers
Top laggards on S&P 500 were Truist Financial Corp. (4.14%), Enphase Energy Inc. (4.03%), MGM Resorts International (3.81%) and Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings Ltd. (3.18%).
KLX Energy Services Holdings Inc. (28.08%), Greenbox Pos (26.12%), Amplitech Group Inc. (21.45%) and Terns Pharmaceuticals Inc. (18.20%) were among the top losers on NASDAQ.
On Dow Jones, Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. (1.38%), Walt Disney Co. (0.82%), Chevron Corp. (0.82%) and Travelers Companies Inc. (0.69%) were laggards.
Image Source: EODHD/Others, S&P 500 Index performance year to date
Volume Movers
Top volume movers are Apple Inc. (21.29M ), Bank of America Corp. (19.92M), Sundial Growers Inc. (18.54M), Castor Maritime Inc. (17.89M), Advanced Micro Devices Inc. (13.77M) and Wells Fargo & Co. (11.41M), Inovio Pharmaceuticals Inc. (10.97M) and Plug Power Inc. (10.42M).
Futures & Commodities
Gold futures were up 1.62 percent to US$ 1,764.45 per ounce on Thursday. Silver rallied 1.56 percent to US$ 25.922 per ounce while copper grew 2.36 percent to US$ 4.2260.
Brent oil futures rose 0.04 percent to US$ 66.84 per barrel and WTI crude jumped 0.30 percent to US$63.34 per barrel.
Bond Market
The 30-year Treasury bond yields fell 2.55 percent to 2.265 while the 10-year bond yields were down 3.78 percent to 1.574 on Thursday.
US Dollar Futures Index edged up 0.02 percent to US$ 91.692.
