Friday, March 29, 2024
Hometrader talkJobs report takeaway: Q1 weakness might be isolated

Jobs report takeaway: Q1 weakness might be isolated

S&P futures moved almost 10 points on the April nonfarm payroll report of 223,000, essentially in line with expectations of 224,000. March revised down 39,000 to 85,000. Broad rally at the open.

Bottom line: March weakness is being ignored, and at least there is no "bleed-through" into the second quarter. June is still unlikely for a rate-hike, but September is more and more likely.

Read MoreRebound:US economy adds 223K jobs in April

Not only did U.S. stocks move up, all the European bourses moved up on that news as well. The dollar bounced around but is generally weaker.

Elsewhere:

1) It's been an ugly week for China, but overnight the Shenzhen index was up 4 percent and Shanghai rose 2 percent, as Beijing approved a trading link between the Shenzhen and Hong Kong stock exchange, which would add to the already existing link between the Shanghai and Hong Kong exchanges. It should be in operation by the fourth quarter of this year, according to Barron's. After a slow start in November, the existing Shanghai-Hong Kong link has seen explosive traffic in recent months.

2) I wrote Thursday that the IPO market has hit a rough patch, with many biotech IPOs trading below their initial prices. Today, the slowdown is confirmed: Six IPOs scheduled to price didn't make it public this week, including Commercial Credit, International Market Centers and a raft of biotech/pharmaceuticals:

What's going on? You could blame it on the old standby, "market conditions," but the biotech sector play, which has been so strong for the last year, appears to have had its run, at least for the moment.

One bright spot is that Southern restaurant chain Bojangles made it in, pricing at $19. That's a victory, considering original price talk was $15-$17, then raised to $18-$19.

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