May 5, 2023
Good morning,
Payrolls Friday begins this morning in an upbeat mood thanks to some decent earnings numbers (AAPL), a bounce in some of the regional bank stocks hit earlier this week, and after four straight down days for the S&P 500 Index (-2.6% this week), maybe some short covering profit-taking. Futures were up +.75% before the 8:30 am employment numbers.
And the numbers are as follows: April payrolls increased 253,000 vs 185,000 expected, and the unemployment rate came in at 3.4% vs 3.6% expected. Worth noting, Feb. and Mar. downward revisions take away the headline number beat. The equity market’s initial reaction is broadly unchanged at +.75%. Bond yields jumped 10 bp on the 2yr to 3.87% (it’s been all over the place this week).
It’s been a big week for markets globally, and traders are breathing a sigh of relief that things worked out pretty much as expected.
Be well,
Mike