The S&P stretched its winning streak to 6 sessions on Thursday as the market waits for a trade agreement and preps for the monthly jobs report.
It was pretty much the same slow situation we had on Wednesday. This time though, the Dow was out front with an advance of 0.64% (or about 166 points) to 26,384.63.
The S&P dipped all the way into the red at midday, but rallied through the back half of the session to keep its winning run alive with a gain of 0.21% to 2879.39.
Unfortunately, the NASDAQ gave up its own streak as it slipped 0.05% to 7891.78, ending five straight sessions in the green. The index has been on a roll thanks to semiconductors, which took off amid all the positive trade vibes. However, the index was limited on Thursday by a more than 8.2% plunge in Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) after the electric car company delivered fewer vehicles than expected in the first quarter.
President Trump met with China’s Vice Premier Liu He today in what could be another signal that the trade conflict is nearing an end. Of course, the real meeting that we want to see is between Trump and China President Xi. Some folks believe a date for that get-together could be set anytime now. And the date itself might be relatively soon, so there’s a chance this whole thing will be done in short order!
Then again, there’s also a chance that it won’t be done at all. Or that the finished deal won’t be “good enough”. So we shouldn’t get ahead of ourselves, which is why the market is content with slow but steady advances for now.
But before we get any kind of resolution on trade, we’ll be receiving the Government Employment Situation report tomorrow. It’s always a big deal, but it’s all the more interesting this month after the bizarrely weak reading from February. The conventional wisdom believes that last month was a one-off and we’ll be back in the six figures for March.
But as far as this skittish market is concerned, seeing is believing.
Today's Portfolio Highlights:
Income Investor: " U.S. stocks closed up after a mixed day of trading, with the Dow and the S&P 500 hitting fresh highs for the year.
"President Trump is meeting with Chinese Vice Premier Liu He at the White House today to continue talks on the trade standoff between the two countries, and many investors are hoping this meeting could be a sign that negotiations are nearing their end.
"The deal that the U.S. and China are currently crafting would give China until 2025 to meet any trade promises, like committing to buying U.S. commodities including soybeans and energy products." -- Maddy Johnson
ETF Investor: "Major indexes are now within striking distance of their record highs touched last year. The S&P 500 index rose 13% in Q1 and the Dow returned 11% but the best performer was the tech heavy Nasdaq that soared more than 16%.
"All eyes are now on the jobs report for the month of March, scheduled to be released tomorrow. After a surprisingly weak February jobs report, this report would provide valuable clues about the health of the labor market. Economists expect addition of 175,000 jobs and the unemployment rate unchanged at 3.8%.
"The ADP (NASDAQ:ADP) jobs report for private sector was disappointing. The private sector added 129,000 jobs in March, below consensus expectation for addition of 173,000 jobs." -- Neena Mishra
All the Best,
Jim Giaquinto
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