Good Evening! The publication of Friday’s employment data revealed ongoing growth in the labor market, causing US equities to be mixed on Monday.
The S&P 500 gained 0.10%, while the Dow Jones rose the most by 0.30% to close the day on a positive note. However, The Nasdaq Composite fell below the flatline by 0.03%. So Close
WE ALL HAVE BAD DAYS
Apple Inc. (AAPL) shares fell on Monday morning after the company reported a 40% drop in PC shipments in the first quarter, signifying a rough start to the year for PC manufacturers. However, it wasn’t just Apple…
- According to IDC’s latest assessment, shipments by all PC manufacturers combined declined 29% to 56.9 million units
- Lenovo Group Ltd. and Dell Technologies Inc. had more than 30% declines, while HP Inc. experienced a 24.2% dip
- It does not stop there with Asustek Computer Inc. closing out the top five with a 30.3% drop.
Did Apple foresee this? Yes! Even with the report targeting Apple, the firm has been prepping investors for lower-than-expected results in some of its hardware. This is especially true with PC market reductions that have been seen for many quarters. On top of that, a rough economic backdrop has been threatening to dampen the excitement for Apple’s offerings.
MAKING PROGRESS!
We have exciting news! According to inflation data, price rises are projected to have slowed further last month. According to Bloomberg, March’s Consumer Price Index (CPI) is predicted to be 5.2% (Actual numbers will be released on Wednesday), a deceleration from February’s 6% annual growth.
Why is it beneficial? The figure would be the slowest annual rise in consumer prices since May 2021, but it would remain far more than the Federal Reserve’s 2% objective. However, It is all balance… The Fed has been increasing interest rates in an attempt to reduce inflation, but by raising rates too quickly, the central bank risks driving the economy into a recession.
What additional reasons can cause the Fed to cease raising interest rates and will they stop anytime soon? According to figures issued Friday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the US economy created 236,000 jobs in March, while the unemployment rate decreased to 3.5%. Sadly it is not enough, the slowdown is unlikely to be sufficient for the Fed to suspend its aggressive rate hike campaign.