The U.S. non-farm payrolls released on last Friday 7th April 2017 showed a mixed picture for the health of U.S. economy. The U.S. economy for the Month Of March 2017 created 98,000 new jobs in all business sectors, excluding the farming sector. The expectations were for a creation of 180,000 new jobs from the analysts. The unemployment rate, however, dipped to 4.5% for the month of March 2017, while the expectation was higher for the unemployment as the forecast was about 4.7%. The monthly release of non-farm payrolls is very important as the FED watches very closely the health of labor market and any potential inflationary signs.
The reaction of the Stock Market to this news was not excessive, rather it was a flat reaction with little volatility. All 3 major stock market indices ended with minor gains at the close of last Friday.
Important business and finance news for this trading week.
This week we have very important business and financial news with the beginning of fourth quarter earnings season, as the the following U.S. banks, including JPMorgan, Citi , and Wells Fargo will all release their quarterly earnings.The U.S. stock market after an impressive rally after the presidential election for a couple of months, seems to be looking for a new direction. in the past trading sessions, volatility seems to be limited, and this could change as the fourth quarter earnings season is one of the most important fundamental factors on the stock market behavior.
The earnings from the large financial institutions will set a tone, as recently and more specifically last month there was another increase from the FED to the benchmark interest rate.
We are heading for important business news and earnings reports this week from U.S. banks.
An increase in future interest rates is a positive factor for the profits of banks, but not so great for the consumers.
It will be not a full-trading week as on Friday 14th March U.S. stock market and bond market, plus major European markets will be closed due to the forthcoming Easter. This means that the potential of limited volume in trading is very possible, as many large institutional traders will have their minds to the holidays season.
Another important factor is the geopolitical risks, which appeared suddenly as the U.S had a missile strike in Syria. Traders and investors are now watching closely how could this geopolitical risk could impact financial and capital markets.
