Economic update for the week ending May 6, 2017

Hiring rebounds in April with 211,000 new jobs – The Labor Department reported that U.S. employer’s added 211,000 new jobs in April. This followed a disappointing March in which only 98,000 new jobs were added. The unemployment rate dropped to 4.4%, a 10-year low. Wages rose just 2.5% year over year from last April’s level. 
Stocks up for week – Stock markets rose this week as tech companies reported first quarter earnings that beat expectations. The tech heavy NASDAQ is up 13% for the year. The DOW and S&P are also up 6.3% and 7.2% respectively year to date. They barely moved this week as they were held back by energy companies that dropped on falling oil prices, disappointing results from big retailers, and auto stocks that dropped following fewer auto sales in April. The April jobs report caused stocks to rally Friday and end the week higher. The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended the week at 21,006.94, up from 20,940.51 last week. The S&P 500 closed the week at 2,399.29, up from its close last week of 2,384.20. The NASDAQ closed the week at 6,100.76, up from last week’s close of 6,047.71. 
Treasury Bond yields end month lower – The 10-year Treasury bond closed the week at 2.36%, up from 2.29%, last week. The 30-year treasury yield ended the week at 2.99%, up from 2.96% last week. 
Mortgage Rates lower in April – Mortgage rates dropped to a 5 month low in April. The May 3, 2017 Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Survey reported that the 30 year fixed mortgage rate average was 4.02%, almost unchanged from 4.03% on April 27, 2017. The 15 year fixed was 3.27%, unchanged from last week’s close. The 5-year ARM was 3.13%, also almost unchanged from 3.12% last week. 

Author, 

Syd Leibovitch