Hi Folks,
S&P futures were down -19.00 and Nasdaq futures were down -45.00 yesterday. Equity futures closed with substantial losses, seeing a sharply negative reaction to disappointing employment data released this morning. S&P futures finished the abbreviated session lower by 19 points, compared to a gain of around 2 points prior to the data. Note that equity markets were closed yesterday.
Much can change over the weekend, so I wouldn’t fret too much.
Nonfarm payrolls added only 126,000 new jobs in March, down from a downwardly revised 264,000 (from 295,000) in February.
Here is how the markets have performed so far this year.
Nasdaq Composite +3.2% YTD
Russell 2000 +4.1% YTD
S&P 500 +0.4% YTD
Dow Jones Industrial Average -0.3% YTD
Alcoa starts off the earnings season next week and reports Wednesday before the open.
One of the most interesting things for me to watch next week will be the biotech sector (IBB). As you can see in the chart below, it settled right on its uptrend line and just barely above its 50 day simple moving average. Its direction will help or hurt the Nasdaq next week.
I will publish the weekend video either today or tomorrow.