The S&P 500 (GSPC) and Dow Jones (DJI) rose 1.38% and 1.18% respectively, while NASDAQ Composite (IXIC) registered a growth of 1.1%, as the U.S. companies started to post good Q1 earnings. The S&P and Dow continued their streak as they registered yet another week of gains, i.e. 4 consecutive weeks of gains.
Market experts have opined that the rally is expected to continue up to the end of year 2021 on the back of two rounds of stimulus packages already deployed in the quarter and the ramped up vaccination efforts. Also, adding to this optimism is strong evidence of the U.S. economy picking up pace. The latest jobs data, business sentiment readings and retail sales, all point towards a strong recovery in the near future.
Top Stories This Week
U.S. Banks- Money in the Bank
Walking in the footsteps of its peers such as JPMorgan Chase (JPM), Bank of America (BAC), Wells Fargo (WFC), Citigroup (C) and Goldman Sachs (GS), all of whom reported positive earnings, Morgan Stanley (MS) too reported to keep the faith of investors intact.
Morgan Stanley reported net revenues of $15.7 billion for the first quarter ended March 31, 2021 as compared with $9.8 billion a year ago. Net income applicable to Morgan Stanley was $4.1 billion, or $2.19 per diluted share, compared with net income of $1.7 billion, or $1.01 per diluted share, for the same period a year ago.
Here’s a breakdown of EPS Actuals Vs EPS Expected of some of the leading banks in the States.
EPS (Actual) EPS(Estimate)
Citigroup $3.62 $2.52
US Bancorp $1.45 $0.95
BlackRock $7.77 $7.87
Bank of America $0.86 $0.66
UnitedHealth $5.31 $4.38
Morgan Stanley $2.22 $1.72
PNC $4.10 $2.75
U.S. Retail Segment Wins The Vote of Confidence
According to the National Retail Foundation (NRF) and the U.S. Consensus Bureau, March, 2021 was a great month for the retail industry in the U.S. The confidence of American consumers continues to grow amid the improving state of the economy and the extra mile, the government and retailers have gone in order to make shopping a delightful & safe experience for them.
Vaccine rollout and stimulus checks have been major contributors to the big year-over-year gains in the retail sector.
NRF reported that sales grew 17.7% over last year while the U.S. Consensus Bureau reported a spike of 27.7% The difference in the numbers can be attributed to the different methodology used by both.
Coinbase – Kaboom!
Post listing, Coinbase (COIN) saw investors rushing to grab a piece of the pie. The company’s valuation rose to $86 billion amid the increased volume of trading. The stock rose 30% on the first day of listing, and remained highly volatile through the day before finally closing at $328. The closing price on the day of listing further strengthened the belief of investors as the reference price was earlier set at $250, and this also caused market analysts to increase the price target to $600 in the near future.
Coinbase CEO, Brian Armstrong, sold about $292 million worth of shares, on the first day of listing.
Blockchain and cryptocurrency website CoinDesk, reported that the Coinbase stakeholders and investors, sold about $5 billion in shares in total during the first day of trading. And in related development, listing of Coinbase had a direct impact on Bitcoins, as the latter rose and hit a record high of $63,000 during the week.
Other Top Stories:
The Second Peak: World Stocks Set Fresh Record Highs
The IPO Game Continues: Aihuishou to raise up to $1 billion in U.S. IPO
Market Waves: Stocks Close at Record Highs; Bond Yields Tumble
The Barrel is not yet full: Oil Markets Are a Long Way From Back to Normal
