You have to give credit to the bulls – they’re not going down without a fight. In fact, last week’s market rebound right from the brink of disaster was another impressive comeback. On the other hand, as impressive as Friday’s bounce was, stocks still aren’t over the big hurdle that’s been holding them back since February. Will this be the time we break through past the recent choppiness and trend higher?
We’ll draw that line in the sand after recapping last week’s big economic news and previewing this week’s economic lineup.
Economic Data
There was plenty of economic data in the queue last week, but there was little doubt as to the highlight. April’s employment numbers released on Friday was not only the most important news, but was also the prod for the big recovery rally.
It was (obviously) encouraging information. The unemployment rate fell from 5.5% to 5.4% in April, on the heels of 223,000 newly-created jobs (versus only 85,000 new jobs created in March). It was a pleasant surprise compared to the 169,000 payroll-processor ADP says it saw materialize last month. It wasn’t so good, however, as to suggest the Federal Reserve was going to accelerate its plans to raise interest rates… not that the Fed has made it clear what its plans are. Investors didn’t mind the missing details though. Whatever the Fed’s plan is, it’s likely not moving ahead any faster because of last month’s employment progress.
Employment Trends Chart
Source: Thomson Reuters Eikon
There were several other pieces of economic data released last week, but the only other one really worth mentioning is March’s factory orders. They were up a solid 2.1%… a nice recovery from February’s 0.1% dip. In fact, March’s progress thwarted a six-month losing streak.
Factory Orders Chart
Source: Thomson Reuters Eikon
Everything else is on the following grid:
