The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 3.6% in March, bringing the rate close to pre-pandemic level of 3.5% in February 2020. U.S. stocks closed higher on Friday after the news of this strong report. The SP 500 went up 0.34% to 4545.86. The Dow Jones Industrial average ticked up 0.40% to close at 34818.27 and the Nasdaq Composite edged up 0.29% to 14261.50.
Economic Reports
Nonfarm payrolls dropped in March from 750,000 to 431,000.
Unemployment rate saw a slight drop in March from 3.8% to 3.6%.
Average hourly earnings in March were 0.4%, in comparison to 0.1% the month before.
Labor-force participation rate, ages 25-54 were at 82.5% in March.
Markit manufacturing PMI (final) increased in March from 58.5 to 58.8.
ISM manufacturing index went down in March to 57.1%, compared with 58.6% previously.
Construction spending also declined to 0.5% in February, from 1.6% previously.
Motor vehicle sales in March were 14.1 million.
Markets
The SP 500 is up by 0.34% to close at 4545.86. The index is up 0.06% over five days, up 5.01% over one month, down 4.62% over three months and up 13.08% over one year.
The trailing P/E is 25.57 compared to 45.45 one year ago and estimated future P/E 20.11. Dividend yield is currently 1.38 compared with 1.45 one year ago.
Leading stocks were EW up 4.54%, NEM up 4.19%, ILMN up 4.15%, IQV up 3.94% and DXCM up 3.90%.
Trailing stocks were JBHT down 9.60%, NSC down 6.79%, ODFL down 6.76%, CSX down 5.18% and UNP down 4.85%.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average went up 0.40% to close at 34818.27. The DOW is down 0.12% over five days, up 3.58% over one month, down 4.18% over three months and up 5.02% over one year.
The trailing P/E is 19.35 compared with 33.62 year ago and an estimated future P/E of 18.16. The current dividend yield is 2.02% compared with 1.81 one year ago.
Leading stocks were VZ up 2.32%, V up 2.07%, MRK up 1.79%, PG up 1.50% and WMT up 1.40%.
Trailing stocks were INTL down 2.93%, WBA down 2.03%, CAT down 1.37%, NKE down 0.77% and JPM down 0.74%.
The NASDAQ composite went up 0.29% and closed at 14261.50. NASDAQ is up 0.65% over five days, up 7.12% over one month, down 8.84% over 3 months and up 5.80% over one year.
Leading stocks were CSSE up 43.80%, HUSN up 36.27%, GREE up 33.95%, AERC up 27.22% and CLVS up 23.76%.
Trailing stocks were SLS down 37.87%, CYRN down 36.04%, PLSE down 26.95%, DBGI down 24.74%, and PEGY down 19.01%.
The MidCap SP400 went up by 0.61% to close at 2710.15. The SP400 is down 0.08% for the past 5 days, up 3.62% for the past month, down 4.64% for the past 3 months and up 2.36% over the past year.
Leading stocks were ARWR up 6.98%, EQT up 4.71% and HALO up 4.34%.
Trailing stocks were WERN down 7.46%, LSTR down 7.30% and R down 6.73%
The SmallCap SP600 is up by 0.97% to close at 1331.34. The SP600 is up 0.02% for the past 5 days, up 2.48% for the past month, down 5.02% for the past 3 months and up 0.67% over the past year.
Leading stocks were HAYN up 14.55%, INGN up 8.82% and HLX up 8.37%.
Trailing stocks were HUBG down 9.16%, ARCB down 6.83% and CPS down 5.82%.
The CBOE VIX is down by 4.52% and closed at 19.63. The VIX is down 5.67% over five days, down 38.62% over one month, up 14.00% over three months and up 13.27% over one year.
On the New York stock exchange 2159 stocks advanced and 1161 declined, while on Nasdaq 2718 advanced and 2008 declined.
There were 111 new 52 week highs and 76 new 52 week lows on NYSE with 75 new highs and 131 new lows on NASDAQ.
The 2 year Treasury note yield is 2.464% and 10 year is 2.385%. The 10-year yield is down 9.4% over five days, up 65.3% over one month, up 87.1% three months ago, and up 66.5% one year ago.
SP500 Sector Performance % Change:
Real Estate +2.02
Utilities +1.45
Consumer Staples +1.25
Materials +1.13
Health Care +0.91
Communication Services +0.88
Energy +0.85
Consumer Discretionary +0.21
Information Technology -0.17
Financials -0.21
Industrials -0.70
Real Estate has been up 4.43% over five days, up 5.69% over one month, down 4.99% over three months and up 22.97% over one year.
Industrials has been down 1.49% over five days, up 2.07% over one month, down 3.42% over three months and up 3.48% over one year.