April ISM Disappoints

April is on the books and the S&P 500 gained 5.24% last month. With dividends, the index was up 5.34%. That’s the third monthly gain in a row, and 10th of the last 13.

This is the first week of the month and that means we get several important economic reports, concluding on Friday with the jobs report. This morning, the ISM Manufacturing came in at 60.7. That’s a good number but it was below expectations of 65.

Construction spending rose by 0.2%. Wall Street had been expecting 1.8%. The stock market is up so far this morning and it’s not far from a fresh all-time high.

This is an outstanding earnings season. Right now, 87% of companies are beating expectations. That’s the highest ever recorded since they started keeping track in 1994. The historical average is 65%. (That’s right, you’re expected to beat expectations.)

Going back to 1994, companies have beat earnings estimates by an average of 3.6%, according to Refinitiv. But this earnings season, companies have posted profits that have been 22.8% above expectations.

Posted by on May 3rd, 2021 at 10:23 am


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