Market Recap (5/5/24)
Market Recap of the Week of April 29, 2024 - May 3, 2024
Source: Apple Stocks Application
Overall Market Trends:
Last week, the stock market started off slow but rebounded as the week progressed. The sole loser was the New York Stock Exchange Composite which finished the week down 36 points (-0.20%). On the other hand, the S&P 500 rose 6 points (+0.12%), the NASDAQ Composite posted weekly gains of 146 points (+0.91%), and the Dow Jones Industrials Average finished the week up 314 points (+0.82%). Last week, the market was mainly impacted by earnings reports, the May Fed policy meeting results, and new economic data.
Markets were boosted by Tesla’s 15% surge on Monday. Although these gains were mitigated by other megacap stocks falling, markets persisted and finished the day positive.
On Tuesday, new wage data was released that raised inflation concerns. The Employment Cost Index came in higher than expected, increasing 1.2% in the first quarter instead of the forecasted 1%. This caused markets to dive, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropping 1.49% and the S&P 500 falling 1.59%.
The market was relatively stable Wednesday as investors awaited the results of the Fed policy meeting. Once Fed chairman Jerome Powell reassured traders that the Fed was keeping rates steady and largely ruled out potential hikes in the future, market prices surged and indices finished the day up.
Stocks soared on Thursday as the positive investor sentiment regarding Powell’s remarks continued into Thursday’s trading session. Thursday’s trading session was also greatly impacted by earnings reports. Qualcomm released better-than-expected earnings and soared 9.7%, Carvana surged 33.8% after posting its best earnings to date, and Moderna rose 12.7% after having lower losses per share than forecasted. DoorDash, on the other hand, posted disappointing earnings and dropped 10.7%. However, the good outweighed the bad and indices finished the day up significantly.
A weaker-than-forecasted jobs report pushed the market higher, supporting a near-future rate cut narrative. The U.S. nonfarm payrolls report showed that the US added just 175,000 jobs in April, down from the 240,000 that were forecasted.
Past Earnings Report:
Looking Towards the Future
Upcoming Important Economic Events:
Tuesday: Consumer credit
Wednesday: Wholesale inventories
Thursday: Initial jobless claims
Friday: Consumer sentiment (prelim); Fed Vice Chair for Supervision Michael Barr speaks
Future Earnings Reports: