April 30, 2025

Wall Street stocks managed to rally off the lows of the session to extend their win streak to seven following some mixed macroeconomic data. The DJIA was down by more than 700 points to start the session as Q1 GDP showed economic growth contracted at an annualized rate of -0.3% vs. +0.2% expected by economists. Higher inflation also rattled investors as Q1 Core Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) index increased by 3.5%, above estimates calling for 3.2% and +2.6% the prior month. The ADP Employment Report showed a softer jobs market with only 62k jobs added vs. 120k estimated. The DJIA closed higher by 141.74 points (+0.35%) and settled at 40669.36, while the S&P 500 rose by 8.23 points (0.15%), closing at 5569.06. However, the NASDAQ fell flat by 14.98 points (-0.09%) to close at 17446.34.  

Breadth was negative with declining issues beating advancing issues by a 5:4 ratio on the NYSE and by 6:5 ratio on the NASDAQ. Declining volume was 61% on the NYSE and 53% on the NASDAQ. VIX was higher by 0.53 points (2.19%) and settled at 24.70. Crude oil finished lower by -$2.16 (-3.57%), as the June contract closed at $58.26 a barrel. Gold finished lower at $3301.80 an ounce. Bitcoin closed the session at $94655.98.   

As mentioned yesterday, the market was due for some consolidation with the Market Edge/ S&P Oscillator moving into an overbought area that typically invites some degree of profit taking in the short term. However, a bullish Point & Figure Triple Top breakout recently occurred for both SPY and QQQ, which is an indication of stubborn resistance being breached, which indicates that the major averages should resolve their trading range to the upside. There remains much work to do however, as the major averages remain below key moving average resistance levels as investors turn their attention to big tech earnings over the next few sessions with Microsoft (MSFT) and Meta Platforms (META) tonight.  

Earnings releases to watch on Thursday include Airbnb (ABNB), Apple (AAPL), Amazon (AMZN), Amgen (AMGN), Eli Lilly (LLY), CVS Health (CVS), Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), KKR & Co. (KKR), Linde, Plc (LIN), Mastercard (MA), McDonald's (MCD), MicroStrategy (MSTR), Parker-Hannifin (PH) and Southern (SO).  

Thursday's Market Moving Economic Calendar includes Challenger Job-Cut Report, Jobless Claims, PMI Manufacturing Index, Construction Spending and Fed Balance Sheet. 

By Richard Cuvilly