Is It Over Yet? Market Mixed on March Reports.
The news that employers cut 80,000 US jobs last month did not send the markets into a panic, as feared. Rather, the market stayed measured - maybe hopeful that the worst has finally passed.
The Dow Jones lost just a few points on the day, ending a few points (3.2%) up for the week. The S&P was unchanged on the day and ended the week up 4.2%. The Nasdaq climbed just 0.3% on the day but a respectable 5% on the week.
Winners were, predictably, tech based stocks. Winners included eBay(EBAY), Apple (AAPL) and Google (GOOG).
And just as predictable, banks were among the losers. Washington Mutual (WM), Bank of America (BAC), Wachovia (WB) and JP Morgan Chase (JPM) saw declines.
Overall, the question of whether the report finally signaled that the economy was in a recession didn’t seem to phase traders. Most seem to have already resigned themselves to the fact that we are in the midst of a recession - or a slow down, as the President refers to our economy - and have already exercised caution. In other words, the job news did not take the market by surprise despite the fact that the unemployment rate topped 5%, a three year high, when most economists thought would remain below 5%.
So does this mean the worst is over? Overwhelmingly, the answer is no. The market appears to be bracing itself for more bad news next quarter but with an eye to the future. Many indicators signal that a recovery will begin in six to nine months - not a terribly long time in economic terms. But boy, it feels like it.
Tags: job reports, Stock market
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