Wall Street's Top Stories For Friday, April 5th
Stocks futures were pointing to a slightly higher open in early morning trading ahead of the monthly jobs data. After it was reported that more jobs than expected were added to nonfarm payrolls last month, the upside was solidified, leading to a higher open. From there, the major averages drifted in the green for the remainder of the trading day as President Trump ratcheted up his pressure on the Fed. The President, who has previously urged the central bank to cut rates, is now calling on the Federal Reserve to undertake a new round of bond buying. Meanwhile, Trump is seeking approval for his two new nominees to serve on the board of the Fed, Stephen Moore and Herman Cain.
ECONOMIC EVENTS: In the U.S., nonfarm payrolls increased 196,000 in March, topping the 177,000 job addition consensus estimate. The unemployment rate was steady at 3.8%. Average hourly earnings were up 0.1% month-over-month and 3.2% year-over-year, both of which were a bit lower than forecast. Consumer credit for the month of February grew $15.2B versus the consensus view of $17B growth for the month. In energy news, Baker Hughes reported that the U.S. rig count is up 19 rigs from last week to 1,025.
TOP NEWS: Continuing the heated saga between the Securities and Exchange Commission and Tesla (TSLA) CEO Elon Musk, CNBC reported yesterday that a federal judge gave Musk and the SEC two weeks to iron out the differences between them. The judge made such comments in court at a hearing over whether Musk violated his October 2018 settlement with the SEC by posting information about the car maker on his Twitter account, after which the SEC asked a court to hold the CEO in contempt. The New York Post reported, moreover, that Judge Alison Nathan warned Musk to "proceed cautiously" with his tweeting, and that he needs to put his "reasonableness pants on and work this out."
In other auto-related news, the European Commission has informed BMW (BMWYY), Daimler (DDAIF) and VW (VLKAY) of its preliminary view that the car makers have breached EU antitrust rules from 2006 to 2014 by colluding to restrict competition on the development of technology to clean the emissions of gas and diesel passenger cars. Following the announcement, BMW said that, following its review of the Statement of Objections, it will recognize a provision which will likely exceed EUR1B.
Meanwhile, Lyft (LYFT) shares were 3.4% higher after Andrew Left's Citron Research advised against shorting shares of the ride-hailing company. The firm stated in a new research report the that same short thesis that is being passed around on Lyft by the "amateur shorts" would have seen investors short Amazon (AMZN), Netflix (NFLX), Square (SQ) and others.
Additionally, Boeing (BA) shares were 1% lower after Reuters reported that the planemaker and suppliers are looking at scenarios including a slowdown in production of the 737 MAX if the aircraft's grounding continues for months.
MAJOR MOVERS: Among the noteworthy gainers was Triumph Group (TGI), which rose 12.1% after announcing it is exploring strategic alternatives for its Aerospace Structures unit. Also higher was Boot Barn (BOOT), which gained 4.5% after being selected to enter the S&P SmallCap 600 index.
Among the notable losers was LivaNova (LIVN), which slid 27.9% after it reported lower than expected preliminary revenue for the first quarter and said it is "currently reviewing" 2019 guidance. Also lower was Duluth Holdings (DLTH), which fell 25.2% after reporting quarterly results.
INDEXES: The Dow rose 40.36, or 0.15%, to 26,424.99, the Nasdaq gained 46.91, or 0.59%, to 7,938.69, and the S&P 500 advanced 13.35, or 0.46%, to 2,892.74.
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