Live Markets: So what happened in April?

Cerillion

02/05/2024 17:56

* 
      U.S. stock indexes rise; Nasdaq out front
    

        * 
      Tech up most among S&P sectors; materials biggest laggard
    

        * 
      STOXX 600 falls 0.2%
    

        * 
      Dollar dips, crude flat; gold off <1%; bitcoin up ~3%
    

        * 
      U.S. 10-year Treasury yield near flat at 4.59%
    

  
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    SO WHAT HAPPENED IN APRIL?
    Investors saw the S&P 500  .SPX  fall in April in its first
monthly decline since October 2023 after a "98th percentile
5-month rally," while the 10-year Treasury yield rose and
international equities outperformed U.S. stocks, writes Savita
Subramanian, equity & quant strategist at BofA Securities. 
    For the month, the 10-year yield was up 49.6 bps, its
largest monthly gain since September 2022.
    But what else happened in April was that inflation concerns
became the biggest headwind, and while news counts on
stagflation rose to the highest level since June 2022, she
writes.
    What's more, sector performance in April also points to
stagflation concerns, with utilities  .SPLRCU  and energy
 .SPNY  outperforming, she writes.
    "These sectors have outperformed the most during historical
stagflation regimes and were also the best-performing sectors in
2022 amid stagflation concerns," she notes, adding that real
estate underperformed thanks to higher rates while technology
also underperformed in April.
    
    (Caroline Valetkevitch)
     *****

    FOR THURSDAY'S EARLIER LIVE MARKETS POSTS:
    
    THURSDAY DATA: PRELUDE TO PAYROLLS - CLICK HERE
    
    WALL STREET EYES A DOVISH WAIT - CLICK HERE
    
    U.S. INDEX FUTURES CLIMB EARLY AS INVESTORS DIGEST FED -
CLICK HERE
    
    A BALANCING ACT TO LURE INFLOWS INTO UK EQUITIES - CLICK
HERE
    
    THE UK HAS ITS PREMIUM STOCKS TOO! - CLICK HERE
    
    POST-DATA PRICE ACTION SUGGESTS STAGFLATION FEARS - UBS
-CLICK HERE
    
    SCOPE FOR MORE EPS UPGRADES IN EUROPE - BOFA - CLICK HERE
    
    STOXX GOING NOWHERE, "LOW QUALITY BEAT" FOR NOVO - CLICK
HERE
    EUROPE EYES MUTED START POST-FED - CLICK HERE
    INTERVENE, RINSE, REPEAT - CLICK HERE

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Wall Street rises as investors read Fed tea leaves    https://tmsnrt.rs/4doojBv
Productivity and labor costs    https://reut.rs/4bnxxfN
Jobless claims and planned layoffs    https://reut.rs/4dljn0q
Trade balance    https://reut.rs/4a4911W
Factory orders    https://reut.rs/4b4N0S3
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