Weekly Market Bullets
for the week ending 5/1/2020
  • US Equity Markets closed out April with its best monthly gain since 1987 fueled by hopes of a COVID-19 therapeutic and the opening up of the US economy, but a sell-off on Friday from President Trump's threat of new tariffs on China over the coronarvirus caused markets to drop fractionally for the week. The S&P 500 ticked down 0.2% for the week to bring its losses for the year to 12.4%. The Nasdaq slipped 0.3% for the week and is now down 4.1% for the year, while the Russell 2000 (small-cap stocks) rallied 2.2% for the week on hopes for an improving US economy, though it remains down 24.5% for the year.

  • Global equity markets rallied last week as more economies open up, helped by the fact that many overseas markets were closed on Friday due to a Labor Day holiday. Developed Markets increased 2.8% for the week to reduce losses for the year to 19.8%. Emerging Markets rose 4.3% for the week, helped by a rebound in energy prices, though they remain down 17.8% for the year.

  • US economic data continued to struggle last week. The initial estimate for US economic growth in the first quarter showed a decline of 4.8%, the biggest drop since 2008 and slightly worse than expected. Another 3.8 million people filed unemployment claims for the prior week, bringing the 6-week total of those filing for unemployment claims to over 30 million. Key measures of US manufacturing activity for April showed sharp declines, coming in at their lowest levels since 2009.
Of Interest to Us
  • While the markets have been focused on developments with the coronavirus, US companies have been reporting their earnings results for the first quarter. To date, about 55% of companies have reported, and 65% of those have exceeded earnings expectations, which is below historical norms. About 63% have exceeded revenue expectations, which is above historical norms. Earnings growth for the first quarter is on pace to decline of 13.7%.
Market Data
for the week ending 5/1/2020
If you have questions about the markets or would like to talk about your investments, please contact me at  bfontana@invtrust.com  or via phone at 704.940.3544.
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