This week was like a boxing match, with the bull taking body shots over the first four days but battling back in Fridays last round with the S&P 500 closing at 4136. Monday started on an optimistic note as the JP Morgan & Chase big bank bailed out the First Republic regional bank, making it the second-biggest banking failure in U.S. history, behind only the 2008 collapse of Washington Mutual. However, the contagion then spread to other regional banks including PacWest Bancorp (PACW). Two months ago, PACW carried a $27.27 price tag and on Thursdays close it stood at $3.17. Then on Wednesday Fed Chair Powells remarks shook the markets with a sharp selloff in the last 90 minutes. Thursday was a day of slight ups and downs as the markets awaited Apples earnings report after the closing bell. And before Fridays open, we had the April employment numbers being released. While the markets were closed, Apple posted beats on the top and bottom lines. Next the employment report came in above estimates with Aprils jobs numbers showing 1) the U.S. economy added 253,000 jobs and 2) an unemployment rate of 3.4%, tying a 50-year low. Hitting like a one/two punch, the S&P 500 gapped up at open and was bullish from then on. For the day, Apple gained 4.7%, the S&P 500 was up nearly 2%, and PacWest popping 81%, closing at $5.76. From a technical perspective, we saw the S&P 500 dropping below its 20 day Moving Average on Tuesday, but by Fridays close it had regained that level. For next week we have the inflation numbers on Wednesday and Thursday and then Fridays consumer sentiment number. For TSP TIPS our top two funds in the Performance Ranking scorecard are I and C, and as such, we recommend no changes to our current investment mix.
This week was like a boxing match, with the bull taking body shots over the first four days but battling back in Fridays last round with the S&P 500 closing at 4136. Monday started on an optimistic note as the JP Morgan & Chase big bank bailed out the First Republic regional bank, making it the second-biggest banking failure in U.S. history, behind only the 2008 collapse of Washington Mutual. However, the contagion then spread to other regional banks including PacWest Bancorp (PACW). Two months ago, PACW carried a $27.27 price tag and on Thursdays close it stood at $3.17. Then on Wednesday Fed Chair Powells remarks shook the markets with a sharp selloff in the last 90 minutes. Thursday was a day of slight ups and downs as the markets awaited Apples earnings report after the closing bell. And before Fridays open, we had the April employment numbers being released. While the markets were closed, Apple posted beats on the top and bottom lines. Next the employment report came in above estimates with Aprils jobs numbers showing 1) the U.S. economy added 253,000 jobs and 2) an unemployment rate of 3.4%, tying a 50-year low. Hitting like a one/two punch, the S&P 500 gapped up at open and was bullish from then on. For the day, Apple gained 4.7%, the S&P 500 was up nearly 2%, and PacWest popping 81%, closing at $5.76. From a technical perspective, we saw the S&P 500 dropping below its 20 day Moving Average on Tuesday, but by Fridays close it had regained that level. For next week we have the inflation numbers on Wednesday and Thursday and then Fridays consumer sentiment number. For TSP TIPS our top two funds in the Performance Ranking scorecard are I and C, and as such, we recommend no changes to our current investment mix.