Loss Of Jobs Weighs Heavy On The Market

As we head into afternoon trading to end the week, the stock market is trading at or near the lows of the day after U.S. jobs fell by 701,000 in March, marking the worst jobs report since 2009, while the unemployment rate jumped to 4.4%. However, the report failed to capture the full extent of the economic blow being dealt with by the coronavirus outbreak. On Thursday, the Labor Department said jobless claims jumped by a record of 6.6 million for the week of March 27.

The DOW has been down over -2.5% on the day, with the S&P 500 losing -2.3% and the NASDAQ losing roughly -2.4%. After a brief mid-week bear market rally last week, the overall long-term downtrend has returned this week with the market posting a losing week, it's third in the previous four weeks.

The DOW will post a weekly loss over two percent at -3.3%, the S&P 500 checks in with a weekly loss of -2.5%, and the NASDAQ brings up the rear with a weekly loss of -2% as well.

The dollar has bounced back this week after coming under pressure after losing -3% last week to post a weekly gain of +2.5% trading back above the 100 level.

Gold and crude oil have effectively swapped places this week with gold losing roughly -.5% and crude oil gaining +23% for the week, trading at approximately $27 a barrel. You may have noticed that gas is now below $2 a gallon in your area, or it's steeply lower than it has been in recent memory.

Bitcoin, looked have back to back weekly gains last week but lost its luster over the weekend to finish down -1% last week. However, it's trading back above the $6,000 level this week with a weekly gain of +7.5%.

Key Levels To Watch Next Week:

• S&P 500 (CME:SP500): 2,641.39
• Dow (INDEX:DJI): 22,595.06
• NASDAQ (NASDAQ:COMP): 7,880.31
• U.S. Dollar (ICE:DX): 97.64
• Gold (NYMEX:GC.Q20): 1,597.10
• Crude Oil (NYMEX:CL.K20): 20.04
• Bitcoin (BITCOIN:BITSTAMPUSD): 7,236.39

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