Bonds & Stocks
The rally in stocks took a breather Friday, with the market still heading toward its best week in 2024 amid speculation the Federal Reserve will be able to cut interest rates as soon as June. US equity futures fluctuated after a rally that saw the S&P 500 climb over 2% this week. Tesla Inc. led losses in megacaps, while Nike Inc. retreated on a bearish sales forecast. Economic bellwether FedEx Corp. surged on solid earnings and a $5 billion share buyback plan. Without any economic reports, traders will keep an eye on remarks from a raft of Fed speakers. Jerome Powell’s opening comments during “Fed Listens” event Friday didn’t include monetary policy.
Economy
While the rising number of immigrants in the US has sowed division among politicians across the country — and stoked angst among a swath of voters — there’s one place where almost everyone seems on the same, upbeat, page: Wall Street. Last month, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office (CBO) calculated that immigration will generate a $7 trillion boost to gross domestic product over the next decade. The agency came to that conclusion after incorporating the recent surge in immigration.
World
Russia’s average daily oil refining rate fell to the lowest weekly level in ten months after a flurry of Ukrainian drone attacks hit several major facilities. Refiners processed 5.03 million barrels a day of crude from March 14 to 20, according to a person with knowledge of industry data. That’s down more than 400,000 barrels a day from the average for the first 13 days of the month, according to Bloomberg calculations based on historical data.