We hope you all had a great Easter holiday. For those who were closely tracking current developments in the Middle East, we hope you looked past the headlines about escalation, just as the stock market did. Global investors looked past the threats and pushbacks from officials on both sides of the Iran-U.S. conflict and sent stocks higher on Monday.
Over the weekend, the U.S. president threatened to target various types of civilian infrastructure in Iran if Iranian authorities did not open the Strait of Hormuz as part of a 45-day ceasefire proposal. Iranian officials rejected the offer and demanded a lasting agreement to resolve the conflict.
Stock indices treated the exchange as part of a broader back-and-forth and rose cautiously. The Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 165 points to 46,670. The Nasdaq posted a gain of 0.61% to 24,192. The S&P 500 advanced 0.44% to 6,612.
Consumer-related sectors led the gains in the market today, with consumer staples and consumer discretionary posting the strongest performance.
The bond market remained in a wait-and-see mode, with minimal changes in yields. Both the 5-year and 10-year U.S. Treasury yields declined by nearly 1 basis point, to 3.99% and 4.34%, respectively. Similarly, gold barely moved and stayed just below the $4,700 mark.
Friday’s labor report demonstrated resilience in the labor market, with a surprising decline in the unemployment rate. While it also showed that a large number of jobs were added, the data series had been adjusted downward significantly over the past few months. Today’s services report showed that while the U.S. services sector is still expanding, it is slowing significantly.
Durable goods orders and consumer credit reports will be released tomorrow. Adams Wealth Advisors will continue to keep you updated on the latest market developments. Thank you for listening.