Futures Pointing To Positive Start To The Second Quarter

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[Save 20% on your Pro Pass by securing your seat today.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- US Market Bitcoin [Bitcoin]( DAX [DAX]( Dow Jones [Dow Jones]( Nasdaq [Nasdaq]( The major U.S. index futures are currently pointing to a higher open on Friday, with stocks likely to regain ground following the sell-off seen going into the close on Thursday. Investors may look to start the second quarter out on a positive note following the steep drop seen to close out the first quarter, which marked the first negative quarter for the major averages since the first quarter of 2020. For the first three months of 2022, the Nasdaq plummeted by 9.1 percent and the S&P 500 and Dow dove by 4.9 percent and 4.6 percent, respectively, although the major averages regained some ground in March. The futures have not shown much reaction to the Labor Department?s typically closely watched monthly jobs report, which showed U.S. employment increased by less than expected in the month of March. The report showed non-farm payroll employment jumped by 431,000 jobs in March after surging by an upwardly revised 750,000 jobs in February. Economists had expected employment to spike by 490,000 jobs compared to the addition of 678,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month. The strong job growth still contributed to a drop in the unemployment rate, which dipped to 3.6 percent in March from 3.8 percent in February. The unemployment rate was expected to edge down to 3.7 percent. With the bigger than expected decrease, the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since hitting 3.5 percent in February of 2020. Stocks saw moderate weakness for much of the trading session on Thursday before accelerating to the downside going into the close. The major averages all moved sharply lower, extending the pullback seen on Wednesday. The major averages ended the session at their worst levels of the day. The Dow plunged 550.46 points or 1.6 percent at 34,678.35, the Nasdaq tumbled 221.76 points or 1.5 percent to 14,220.52 and the S&P 500 slumped 72.04 points or 1.6 percent to 4,530.41. The early weakness on Wall Street came as some traders continued to cash in on recent strength in the markets, which lifted the Nasdaq and the S&P 500 to their best closing levels in well over two months on Tuesday. Selling pressure picked up considerably in the final hour of the last trading day of the quarter, which marked the first negative quarter for the major averages since the first quarter of 2020. Traders may also have been looking to safer havens ahead of the release of the Labor Department's closely watched monthly employment report on Friday. The jobs data could impact expectations regarding how quickly the Federal Reserve plans to raise interest rates in the months ahead. A day ahead of the release of the closely watched monthly jobs report, the Labor Department released a report on Thursday showing a modest increase in first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended March 26th. The report showed initial jobless claims edged up to 202,000, an increase of 14,000 from the previous week's revised level of 188,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to inch up to 197,000 from the 187,000 originally reported for the previous week. A separate report from the Commerce Department said a reading on inflation thought to be preferred by the Federal Reserve showed the annual rate of core consumer price growth accelerated to 5.4 percent in February from 5.2 percent in January. While the annual rate of growth reached its highest level since April 1983, the jump was slightly smaller than the 5.5 percent expected by economists. Housing stocks moved sharply lower over the course of the session, dragging the Philadelphia Housing Sector Index down by 3.5 percent to its lowest closing level in over a year. The sell-off by housing stocks came as Freddie Mac said the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage averaged 4.67 percent in the week ended March 31st, the highest since December 2018. Substantial weakness was also visible among computer hardware stocks, as reflected by the 3.2 percent slump by the NYSE Arca Computer Hardware Index. Dell (DELL) and HP Inc. (HPQ) posted steep losses after Morgan Stanley downgraded both computer equipment makers. Financial stocks also moved notably lower along with bond yields, with the KBW Bank Index and the NYSE Arca Broker/Dealer Index tumbling by 3.1 percent and 2.5 percent, respectively. Semiconductor, retail and transportation stocks also saw considerable weakness on the day, reflecting the broad based selling pressure that emerged late in the session. --------------------------------------------------------------- [To Any American Who Owns a Cell Phone]( If you own a cell phone, then mobile service providers hope you never get to see this video that could soon go viral. [Watch Video ASAP]( --------------------------------------------------------------- U.S. Economic Reports CADUSD [CADUSD]( Oil [Oil]( Gold [Gold]( EURUSD [EURUSD]( A closely watched report released by the Labor Department on Friday showed U.S. employment increased by less than expected in the month of March. The report showed non-farm payroll employment jumped by 431,000 jobs in March after surging by an upwardly revised 750,000 jobs in February. Economists had expected employment to spike by 490,000 jobs compared to the addition of 678,000 jobs originally reported for the previous month. The strong job growth still contributed to a drop in the unemployment rate, which dipped to 3.6 percent in March from 3.8 percent in February. The unemployment rate was expected to edge down to 3.7 percent. With the bigger than expected decrease, the unemployment rate fell to its lowest level since hitting 3.5 percent in February of 2020. Chicago Federal Reserve President Charles Evans is due to speak at the Prairie State College Foundation Economic Forecast Breakfast at 9:05 am ET. At 10 am ET, the Institute for Supply Management is scheduled to release its report on manufacturing activity in the month of March. The ISM?s manufacturing PMI is expected to inch up to 59.0 in March from 58.6 in February, with a reading above 50 indicating growth. The Commerce Department is also due to release its report on construction spending in the month of February at 10 am ET. Construction spending is expected to increase by 1.0 percent. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Is Biden About to Ban Bitcoin?]( The government is so afraid of cryptocurrency that some worry Biden will ban Bitcoin using a "backdoor" approach. Investors who know what to do could grow their money 60-fold in the months ahead. [Get details here.]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Stocks in Focus Shares of GameStop (GME) are moving sharply higher in pre-market trading after the videogame retailer revealed plans to ask for shareholder approval to increase the number of common shares to enable a stock split. China-based electric vehicle makers Li Auto (LI) and Nio (NIO) are also likely to move to the upside after reporting sharp year-over-year increases in deliveries in March. On the other hand, shares of BlackBerry (BB) may see initial weakness after the communications software company reported an unexpected fiscal fourth quarter profit but weaker than expected revenues. --------------------------------------------------------------- [Watch A.I. Forecast Your Stocks in Less than a Minute]( Artificial intelligence makes trading simple. See what stocks are on the rise this week, and what trades you should probably exit?before it?s too late. Save your seat at our LIVE online demonstration and see your stock forecasted today. [Join LIVE online demonstration]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Europe European stocks have edged up slightly in cautious trade on Friday after Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Russia is consolidating and preparing "powerful strikes" in the country's east and south, including besieged Mariupol. Worries about gas supply eased somewhat after Russian state-owned energy giant Gazprom said Friday that it was continuing to supply Europe with natural gas. Russia supplies about a third of Europe's gas, so the removal would have resulted in a full-blown energy crisis. While the German DAX Index has risen by 0.5 percent, the French CAC 40 Index and the U.K.?s FTSE 100 Index are both up by 0.4 percent. In economic news, Eurozone inflation accelerated further to a new record high in March, flash data from Eurostat showed. Inflation rose to 7.5 percent from 5.9 percent in February. The rate was also above the economists' forecast of 6.6 percent. Final survey results from S&P Global showed Eurozone manufacturing sector registered its slowest growth in 14 months in March as geopolitical tensions weighed on demand and confidence. The manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index fell to 56.5 in March from 58.2 in February. The score was also below the flash estimate of 57.0. Sodexo shares have plunged in Paris after the catering and food services group lowered expectations for full-year organic revenue growth. Meanwhile, higher iron ore prices has helped lift miners, with Anglo American and Glencore moving to the upside in London. --------------------------------------------------------------- Do you have a full view of the market? Level 2 lets you see all of the orders to buy and sell shares, allowing you to see what is really going on in the market. If you don?t have this in your trading toolkit, you?re at a serious disadvantage. [Learn More / Upgrade]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Asia USDCAD [USDCAD]( USDEUR [USDEUR]( USDGBP [USDGBP]( USDJPY [USDJPY]( Asian stocks ended mixed on Friday after reports suggested Russian forces have been repositioning with a goal of focusing on securing the separatist republics in Ukraine's eastern Donbas region. Disappointing economic data from China and Japan also clouded the outlook for already fragile global growth. The dollar extended a rebound versus major peers as investors awaited the March U.S. jobs data due out later in the day for cues on inflation and the Fed's policy stance. Oil extended overnight losses after U.S. President Joe Biden ordered the release of up to 1 million barrels of oil per day from the nation's strategic petroleum reserve. Chinese shares rose sharply despite rising Covid-19 cases in the country and the release of disappointing manufacturing data. The Caixin China purchasing managers index slipped to 48.1 in March from February's 50.4, hitting its lowest level since February 2020. The benchmark Shanghai Composite Index climbed 0.9 percent to finish at 3,282.72, while Hong Kong's Hang Seng Index edged up 0.2 percent to settle at 22,039.55. Trading was halted in 33 Hong Kong-listed firms after they failed to report annual results. Japan's Nikkei 225 Index closed 0.6 percent lower at 27,665.98 after the Tankan survey, carried out by the Bank of Japan, showed sentiment at Japan's large manufacturers soured in the three months to March. Chip-related stocks and heavyweight Fast Retailing led losses as investors continued to take profits after sharp gains last month. Electronics and energy giant Toshiba jumped 6.5 percent after its largest shareholder spurred speculation of a takeover bid by U.S. private equity firm Bain Capital. Australian markets fluctuated before closing marginally lower for the day amid concerns surrounding the Ukraine conflict and rising inflationary pressures. Banks and technology stocks led losses, while miners benefited from a rise in iron ore prices. Seoul stocks retreated after data showed factory activity growth in the country slowed in March. The Kospi dropped 0.7 percent to 2,739.85, snapping a three-day winning streak. Samsung Electronics, Samsung Biologics, Naver, SK Hynix and LG Energy Solution lost 1-3 percent. --------------------------------------------------------------- Do you day trade? Trader Alerts streams stocks reaching new highs and lows as well as stocks breaking out of previous volume highs as they happen. It?s a powerful tool for day trading ideas. [Learn More / Upgrade]( --------------------------------------------------------------- Commodities Crude oil futures are slumping $1.57 to $98.71 a barrel after plummeting $7.54 to $100.28 a barrel on Thursday. Meanwhile, after climbing $15 to $1,954 an ounce an ounce in the previous session, gold futures are sliding $22.50 to $1,931.50 an ounce. On the currency front, the U.S. dollar is trading at 122.73 yen versus the 121.70 yen it fetched at the close of New York trading on Thursday. Against the euro, the dollar is valued at $1.1052 compared to yesterday?s $1.1067. --------------------------------------------------------------- To unsubscribe from this news bulletin or edit your mailing list settings click [here](. Registered Office/Accounts Dept: Suite 27, Essex Technology Centre, The Gable, Fyfield Road, Ongar, CM5 0GA. Customer Support +1 888-992-3836. Company registered in England and Wales: Number 2374988 VAT No. GB 549 2130 49