Despite a wealth of reasons pointing to the contrary, the markets managed an afternoon rally this Thursday.
For the week ending April 18th, another 4.427 million Americans filed for unemployment, taking the 5-week together to more than 26 million. According to some calculations, that wipes out every job created since the Clinton administration.
In terms of market perception, however, it was further comedown from the near 6.9 million peak seen a few weeks ago, and a drop off from last Thursday’s 5.237 million reading.
Similarly, though both of the flash manufacturing and services PMIs out of the US saw a sharp decline month-on-month, they were nevertheless notable better than their European counterparts this morning, especially in services.
These flimsy facts are potentially the reasons behind Thursday’s post-US open gains; that and Brent Crude’s continued rebound following Wednesday’s spike in Trump-Iran tensions.
The Dow Jones rose more than 300 points, just about putting it back across 23800. The DAX added 150 points as it hit 10550, while the CAC struck 4450 thanks to a 1.6% increase.
The FTSE, however, had to settle for a 0.9% climb, one that pushed it above 5800. The UK index lagged behind its peers due to sterling’s gains against the dollar and euro, clawing back some of the losses incurred as Brexit reared its ugly head once again earlier in the week.
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