Wall Street Breakfast: What Moved Markets

Major stock indexes posted solid gains Friday to end the week and the month on higher ground, in part as earnings reports from several big tech companies including Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta Platforms were received positively by investors. However, Amazon fell 4% Friday despite better than expected quarterly results, after warning growth in its cloud computing services would slow further. The U.S. employment cost index, the broadest measure of U.S. labor costs and the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, rose 1.2% in the first quarter after gaining 1.1% in the fourth quarter of 2022. The Dow Jones average gained 0.9% for the week and 2.5% for the month of April, while the S&P 500 rose 0.9% for the week and 1.5% for the month, and the Nasdaq added 1.3% for the week and ended the month nearly unchanged. In the bond market on Friday, yields slipped following a sizable jump the previous day. The 10-year yield (US10Y) fell 10 basis points to 3.43%, while the more rate-sensitive 2-year yield (US2Y) dropped 6 basis points to 4.03%. Read about the big market events on tap for next week in Seeking Alpha's Catalyst Watch.

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Top News Shutterstock Major stock indexes posted solid gains Friday to end the week and the month on higher ground, in part as earnings reports from several big tech companies including Alphabet, Microsoft and Meta Platforms were received positively by investors. However, Amazon fell 4% Friday despite better than expected quarterly results, after warning growth in its cloud computing services would slow further. The U.S. employment cost index, the broadest measure of U.S. labor costs and the Fed's preferred inflation gauge, rose 1.2% in the first quarter after gaining 1.1% in the fourth quarter of 2022. The Dow Jones average gained 0.9% for the week and 2.5% for the month of April, while the S&P 500 rose 0.9% for the week and 1.5% for the month, and the Nasdaq added 1.3% for the week and ended the month nearly unchanged. In the bond market on Friday, yields slipped following a sizable jump the previous day. The 10-year yield (US10Y) fell 10 basis points to 3.43%, while the more rate-sensitive 2-year yield (US2Y) dropped 6 basis points to 4.03%. Read about the big market events on tap for next week in Seeking Alpha's Catalyst Watch. Featured Get unmatched earnings coverage Earnings drive stock prices, leading to big gains and painful losses. After reporting its Q1 numbers, JP Morgan Chase (JPM) rallied +7% on record revenue and a 52% profit surge. If you want to get ahead of earnings and discover potential hits and misses, join Seeking Alpha Premium. You can pinpoint the most compelling opportunities with up-to-the-minute news and analysis. That's as well as 5,000+ earnings call transcripts. Get the edge you need to win. Gain access to Seeking Alpha Premium's unmatched earnings coverage - just $4.95 for your first month. Go Premium now * Introductory offer for new subscribers only. After 30 days, $239 charged automatically for an annual subscription. Auto-renews at the then current annual list price. Consumer Bed Bath & Bankruptcy Long-struggling retailer Bed Bath & Beyond (NASDAQ:BBBY) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, but said it intends to keep the chain's 480 stores open for the moment as it attempts to auction off assets through the restructuring process. In the meantime, the company has secured a commitment for some $240M in debtor-in-possession financing from Sixth Street Specialty Lending Inc., listing $5.2B of debts and $4.4B of assets in its bankruptcy filing. "Some remnants may survive, but they will likely be small and will leave common shareholders wiped out," writes Investing Groups Leader Daniel Jones in SA article "The Last Nail In The Coffin." Contributor WYCO Researcher also explores why Bed Bath had to file for bankruptcy now, while Henrik Alex tells investors to move on given the absolute priority rule. (219 comments)        Earnings Big Week, Big Tech Most of the Big Tech earnings are now in, and WSB subscribers were correct in forecasting big gains for Microsoft (MSFT), which rose 8.5% after the bell on Tuesday. The biggest surprise was Meta Platforms (META), however, which eclipsed the advance of the Windows maker with a nearly 12% jump of its own during the following session (also reporting this week were Alphabet and Amazon (AMZN). One of the big takeaways from the price movement is just how much the industry has bolstered the market this year as tech stocks continue to dominate the landscape. Two months ago, we also asked WSB subscribers which S&P 500 sector will walk away with the biggest gain in 2023. So far, it seems like they were also right by a large margin. (11 comments)       Media Disney vs. DeSantis Walt Disney (DIS) filed suit against Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, saying it was "forced to defend itself against a state weaponizing its power to inflict political punishment." The move followed a conflict that ramped up as the House of Mouse took a position against the state's Parental Rights in Education Act, or so-called "Don't Say Gay" legislation, and DeSantis flagging special treatment that Disney receives through the Reedy Creek Improvement District. Things then escalated further with dedicated board appointees and a secret deal to return power to the company. Seeking Alpha contributor Juxtaposed Ideas believes the impact of lost privilege on Disney could be massive, given that it would lose the autonomy of management within its properties. (806 comments)       Economy Is it here yet? Recession talk is all the rage, but the U.S. economy managed to eke out another gain in Q1, with GDP growth expanding by an annualized rate of 1.1%. That severely missed estimates of 2.0% growth and was slower than the 2.6% growth seen in Q4, but investors were excited nonetheless. In fact, the Dow (DJI) and S&P 500 (SP500) on Thursday notched their biggest gains since January, while the Nasdaq Composite (COMP.IND) scored its best winning session since March. Check out what's going on with markets and the full debate about the direction of the broader economy. (137 comments)       Financials Banking crisis At the time of writing on Friday, the U.S. government is said to be "coordinating urgent talks" to save First Republic Bank (NYSE:FRC) as "private-sector efforts led by the bank's advisers have yet to reach a deal." The FDIC, Treasury Department and Federal Reserve are apparently all involved, with similar comments made by White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre after FRC shares tanked this week. While the efforts may help bring more parties such as banks and private equity firms to the negotiating table, it's still unclear whether the U.S. government will ultimately participate in the rescue. On Monday, First Republic revealed that deposit outflows totaled $70B in Q1, and put the spotlight on Wall Street institutions that deposited $30B at the bank on March 16 to stave off a regional banking crisis. (29 comments)       U.S. Indices Dow -0.3% to 34,098. S&P 500 +0.9% to 4,169. Nasdaq +1.3% to 12,227. Russell 2000 -1.3% to 1,769. CBOE Volatility Index -5.9% to 15.78. S&P 500 Sectors Consumer Staples +1.1%. Utilities -1%. Financials -0.2%. Telecom +3.8%. Healthcare -0.6%. Industrials -0.6%. Information Technology +2.4%. Materials -0.2%. Energy +0.3%. Consumer Discretionary +0.2%. Real Estate +1.5%. World Indices London -0.6% to 7,871. France -1.1% to 7,492. Germany +0.3% to 15,922. Japan +1.% to 28,856. China +0.7% to 3,323. Hong Kong -0.9% to 19,895. India +2.4% to 61,112. Commodities and Bonds Crude Oil WTI -1.6% to $76.63/bbl. Gold +0.9% to $1,999.4/oz. Natural Gas +7.4% to 2.398. Ten-Year Bond Yield -0.2 bps to 3.433. Forex and Cryptos EUR/USD +0.25%. USD/JPY +1.6%. GBP/USD +1.15%. Bitcoin +5.6%. Litecoin +3.1%. Ethereum +1.2%. XRP +2%. Top S&P 500 Gainers Chipotle Mexican Grill (CMG) +15%. Hasbro (HAS) +15%. Meta Platforms (META) +13%. Catalent (CTLT) +11%. Charter Communications (CHTR) +11%. Top S&P 500 Losers First Republic Bank (FRC) -75%. Enphase Energy (ENPH) -27%. First Solar (FSLR) -16%. MSCI (MSCI) -11%. SolarEdge Technologies (SEDG) -11%. Where will the markets be headed next week? Current trends and ideas? Add your thoughts to the comments section. Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Breakfast Podcast Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Breakfast podcast brings you all the news you need to know for your market day. Released by 8:00 AM ET each morning, it is a quick listen that you can put on as you get ready to start your working day.
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