Marketbites: U.S. Trade Sees Growth
MARKET PERFORMANCE:
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Portfolio Manager Commentary:
Stocks tumbled Thursday as banks and other financial stocks sold off, and investors braced for a key payroll report Friday that could shape the direction of interest rates. Thursday’s losses brought the Dow to close below its 200-day moving average for the first time since Nov. 9. For the week and year, the 30-stock index is down 3.4% and 2.7%, respectively. Both the S&P and Nasdaq are up 2.05% and 8.33% in 2023, respectively, but on track for weekly losses of 3% or more.
SVB Financial cratered 60% after announcing a $1.75 billion stock sale, pushing its market capitalization to a little over $6 billion and dragging down other regional bank names. Silvergate shares plummeted more than 42% on news that it’s shutting down operations. Financial bellwethers Bank of America and Wells Fargo also took a hit, tumbling more than 6% each.
Some economists, including those at Citi, expect a positive surprise to the upside with today's payrolls data, following January’s blowout number. However, strong jobs growth could mean bad news for the market, wrote Citi research strategist Alex Saunders in a Wednesday note to clients.
Chart of the Day:
U.S. trade with the rest of the world grew in January, adding to signs the global economy started the year on a surprisingly strong note. Imports grew 3% to a seasonally adjusted $325.8 billion, reflecting increases in the shipments of automobiles and consumer goods such as cellphones, toys and sporting goods, the Commerce Department said Wednesday. Exports rose 3.4% to $257.5 billion, as the sale of pharmaceutical drugs and other consumer goods increased. As a result, the trade gap in goods and services expanded 1.6% in January to $68.3 billion from December’s revised deficit of $67.2 billion.
Source: WSJ
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