Afternoon Note
The market bolted out the gate but almost immediately stalled and pulled back ahead of a bunch of economic data releases. The Dallas Fed Manufacturing Report was one of them. General business climbed, and was slightly better than expected, but prices paid for raw materials was the lead. Yet another sign of runaway inflation, as it was an all-time record high.
I was encouraged by cap ex and continue to see a boom in business investments.
|
Indicator |
May Index |
Apr Index |
Trend |
% Reporting Increase |
% Reporting Decrease |
|
Production |
15.7 |
34.0 |
12(+) |
40.0 |
24.3 |
|
Capacity Utilization |
23.2 |
34.6 |
12(+) |
43.4 |
20.2 |
|
New Orders |
20.8 |
38.5 |
12(+) |
44.5 |
23.7 |
|
Rate of Orders |
19.5 |
32.3 |
11(+) |
40.6 |
21.1 |
|
Unfilled Orders |
19.8 |
23.1 |
11(+) |
31.7 |
11.9 |
|
Prices Paid |
79.9 |
71.4 |
13(+) |
81.8 |
1.9 |
|
Prices Received |
38.4 |
39.1 |
10(+) |
43.0 |
4.6 |
|
Wages and Benefits |
39.0 |
37.1 |
13(+) |
40.0 |
1.0 |
|
Employment |
22.7 |
31.3 |
11(+) |
29.0 |
6.3 |
|
Hours Worked |
22.7 |
23.7 |
11(+) |
32.9 |
10.2 |
|
Capital Expenditures |
23.2 |
19.8 |
10(+) |
29.7 |
6.5 |
Broad Market
The S&P 500 spinning its wheels but seems to want to move higher. Utilities and Consumer Staples are lagging along with health care – signs investors want to be aggressive.
Energy acts the best with crude on the rise, but Materials are also impressive.
|
S&P 500 Index |
+0.04% |
|
|
Communication Services XLC |
+0.02% |
|
|
Consumer Discretionary XLY |
+0.04% |
|
|
Consumer Staples XLP |
-0.34% |
|
|
Energy XLE |
+3.29% |
|
|
Financials XLF |
+0.78% |
|
|
Health Care XLV |
-1.55% |
|
|
Industrials XLI |
+0.66% |
|
|
Materials XLB |
+1.35% |
|
|
Real Estate XLRE |
+1.02% |
|
|
Technology XLK |
-0.31% |
|
|
Utilities XLU |
-0.46% |
| Tweet |
| 3/31/2026 1:25 PM | Markets Rally on Easing Geopolitical Concerns |
| 3/31/2026 9:34 AM | SHOOTING GALLERY |
| 3/30/2026 1:36 PM | Mixed Monday |
| 3/30/2026 9:37 AM | THE NEXT PHASE |
| 3/27/2026 1:26 PM | Waiting for The Dust to Settle |
| 3/27/2026 9:59 AM | STRESSED & FATIGUED |
| 3/26/2026 1:54 PM | Thursday Dip |
| 3/26/2026 9:42 AM | LOOKING FOR LEADERSHIP |
| 3/25/2026 1:42 PM | Facing Resistance |
| 3/25/2026 9:28 AM | Good Retry |
| 3/24/2026 1:27 PM | Participation Broadens |
| 3/24/2026 9:38 AM | GOOD TRY |
| 3/23/2026 1:20 PM | Market Over Sold |
| 3/23/2026 9:53 AM | OVERSOLD SIGNALS ABOUND |
| 3/20/2026 1:20 PM | From the Strait to the Street |
| 3/20/2026 9:45 AM | SIGNS OF LIFE |
| 3/19/2026 1:25 PM | Continued Pressure |
| 3/19/2026 9:44 AM | MIC DROP |
| 3/18/2026 1:44 PM | Facing Pressure |
| 3/18/2026 9:43 AM | STILL TEPID |
| 3/17/2026 1:27 PM | Continued Resilience |
| 3/17/2026 9:41 AM | GREEN AHEAD OF ST PATRICKS DAY |
| 3/16/2026 1:19 PM | Green Screen |
| 3/16/2026 9:49 AM | TRADING ACTION HINTS AT MAJOR REVERSALS |
| 3/13/2026 1:40 PM | Volatility Continues |
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