The View From Fifth Avenue

April is in the rearview now, but the recent trend higher continued for the 1st day of May. Equites got a boost as two of the MAGA 7 (no-typo) provided positive results last night, highlighting that their earnings power continues even in a volatile tariff headline driven environment. The S&P 500 closed higher by 63bps, its eighth day in the green (last time was August 2024) as Tech (XLK +1.47%) led. Microsoft (+7.6%) and Meta (+4.2%) provided the impetus and that was enough to get the broader g…

When Trump said “Myself” in response to being asked who he would like to see succeed Pope Francis yesterday, it was hardly a surprising answer, but it made us laugh. Feels like we could all use a good laugh in the current environment with traders facing earnings galore and full slates of important economic data this week, as well as month end shenanigans today. US indices were setup for failure from the start with a slew of disappointing earnings pre-market (See: Super Micro -11.5%, Norwegian C…

Today there will be an announcement! This headline followed multiple announcements throughout the day, causing markets to continue to be reactionary as they respond to tweets, headlines, and interviews from members of the Trump administration. It kicked off this morning after it was reported that Amazon (-0.1%) would display the cost of tariffs on its products which was called a “hostile and political act” by the White House. This reported was quickly backtracked after a President Trump gave…

The level of uncertainty permeating the market has been borderline uncomfortable but there are a significant number of catalysts coming in the week ahead which will help to shed some light. We are now in the peak of earnings season with $20 trillion of US companies reporting – the early feedback from management is that the US consumer remains surprisingly resilient but the other big question for this week is whether or not that will come through in the economic data this week as the impact of t…

Is it too early to let the bull market music ring again? Today was the third day in a row of strong gains thanks to earnings, which have delivered a mix of relief and enthusiasm to investors. In addition, anticipation around a potential retreat on trade policy from the Trump administration continues to reverberate through the masses, with investors expecting formal news on a trade “deal” imminently. Bessent suggested we could see an outline in regard to South Korea as soon as next week. 5504/55…

It’s been quite some time since I uttered the phrase “Sea of Green” as US equities soared early off Trump de-escalation talks (domestically and foreign), healthy earnings beats (despite tariff woes and AI capex fears…for now), followed by encouraging macro data (PMI, new home sales beat, and no surprises out of the Fed’s Beige Book). Albeit US indices maintained their“ SoG” we made rather whippy moves off headline comments of no substance from Treasury Sec. Bessent and President Trump around Ch…

Amid an avalanche of earnings and incrementally positive updates in the ongoing Trump tariff regime, major indices posted hefty gains today. The majority of yesterday’s losses were made up overnight with the S&P500 back to flat on the week within the first 15 minutes of the session, but the grind higher was not without its own bout of volatility. Word leaked from Bessent’s closed door investor summit that the treasury secretary said the current tariff standoff could not be sustained, sparking a…

We started the day in a somber state of mind, as the passing of Pope Francis hit the newswires. No matter one’s religious affiliation or lack thereof, his overarching message of compassion and inclusivity was a welcome one. With Europe largely closed for Easter Monday, there was the possibility of a serene session. But while volumes were certainly representative of that, stock moves were anything but, markets hemorrhaging from the start. There was little new to spark the selloff, but as we know…

A day full of headlines and not a lot of volume led to another choppy session for the main US averages. I guess the question is where to start so let just start from the beginning. This morning markets breathed a small sigh of relief as talks with Japan around tariffs and trade yielded some positive news. Both sides expressed good progress in the ongoing negotiations with President Trump saying “big progress” was made but concerns remain around the tight 90-day timeline. This morning’s economic…

Even as tariff announcements from Washington have quieted, the ramifications continue to move through the markets. China remains a US focus, and this has forced Nvidia to warn they would be taking a $5.5b charge in Q1 because of US licensing restrictions on their China specific H20 chip. The semi heavyweight fell 6% pre-market and weighed on broader sentiment and the S&P 500 opened down 1%, and Nasdaq down 1.9%. Investors finally received some economic data starting with Chinese GDP/ Retail Sal…