April 6, 2023

Markets:

Stock futures were flat Thursday morning as investors considered what the latest data suggested about the health of the broader economy.

Those moves come as investors digest new data that shows signs of a potentially weakening labor market. The ADP private payrolls report released Wednesday showed job growth slowed in March. Meanwhile, a Tuesday report showed that the number of available positions fell below 10 million in February — a first in almost two years.

Investors will watch Thursday for jobless claims data for more insights into the strength of the labor market. St. Louis Fed President James Bullard is also slated to speak in the morning in Arkansas.

Thursday will cap off a shortened trading week with the market closed for Good Friday, but investors will still closely monitor March jobs report Friday morning. The labor market has remained hot despite layoffs across tech and financial sectors, making the Fed’s job to combat inflation harder.

The first-quarter earnings season kicks off next week with big banks including JPMorgan and Citigroup reporting.

The two-year Treasury yield, most sensitive to monetary policy, dipped 3 basis points to 3.73% Thursday. The short-term rate has fallen for five straight sessions in a row.

The Federal Reserve is next scheduled to meet in early May, and the market is split on whether the central bank will pause or hike rates by a further 25 basis points, according to the CME Group’s FedWatch tool.

Portfolio:

We enter the new trading session and the last session of the week holding set-ups in AI, AG, and PLTR. Shortened trading week with Good Friday tomorrow and Easter weekend. Next week kicks off earnings season and as many of our long-time members know, we absolutely LOVE second quarter earnings reports and the path it creates into summer trading. So many variables are coming into play and the next two months should provide the most explosive opportunities of the year! It's been a strong start to 2023 but we fully expect some of the strongest opportunities to emerge this quarter. Enoy the long weekend, be ready today for potentially new set-ups triggering and have a great session!