Big Banks Boost Stock Market

Posted on by The INO.com Team

Hello traders everywhere. Earnings season started with a bang early Friday as two major U.S. banks shared better than expected Q1 results which propelled the market higher at the open. The S&P 500 pushed above $2,900 for the first time since October of 2018, the DOW up over 290 pts in early trading and is trying to post a weekly gain after being quiet for much of the week and the NASDAQ continues to march higher gaining +.47% on the week making this three straight weeks of gains.

JPMorgan Chase earned $2.65 a share in the first quarter, easily beating third-party consensus estimates of $2.35. Revenue—which many analysts had expected to decline—rose 5% to $29.9 billion as the company appeared to benefit from higher interest rates and strength in consumer banking. Shares rose more than 2.5% in pre-market trading.

Wells Fargo was the other big bank reporting early Friday, and its results also topped third-party consensus. Earnings per share of $1.20 beat the average estimate of $1.10, while revenue of $21.6 billion out-performed the average estimate of $20.99 billion. Shares climbed about 2% right after the company released results.

post a weekly gain

The U.S. dollar retreated as the week ended with investors dumping haven assets turning to riskier assets like stocks after a strong round of earnings releases. The dollar will post a weekly loss of -.48%

Crude oil has flattened out around the $64 level this week as U.S. crude oil inventories rose last week, marking its third consecutive week of stockpile builds and its second-straight surge of more than 7 million barrels. The Energy Information Administration said in its regular weekly report that inventories grew by 7.03 million barrels in the week to April 5. That was compared to forecasts for a stockpile draw of 2.29 million barrels, after a gain of 7.24 million barrels in the previous week. On the bright side, oil will post a weekly gain of +1.28%.

Gold took a big hit Thursday dropping over 1% to trade back at the $1,295 level where it remains trading on Friday. That move kicked in a new red daily Trade Triangle pushing the Chart Analysis Score to -100. You could see a move lower for gold in the near-term.

Bitcoin's 5 week run of gains will come to an end this week with the cryptocurrency losing -.86% on the week. Bitcoin briefly dipped below the $5,000 level to hit $4,912 before heading back up above $5,000 Friday. It's still trading above its 200-day MA and that should continue to provide support as the tug of war between the bears and bulls continues.

Key Levels To Watch Next Week:

Every Success,
Jeremy Lutz
INO.com and MarketClub.com