Monday, April 1, 2013

http://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-the-jobs-data-may-feed-stocks-record-run-2013-03-31?dist=tcountdown

Why the jobs data may feed stocks’ record run

With Dow, S&P 500 at record highs, jobs data will be key for markets


The U.S. Labor Department will release its March figures on nonfarm payrolls and the unemployment rate on Friday.

The market has risen “partially on expectations that the economy is improving, and now the job numbers have to deliver,” said Matthew Tuttle, chief investment officer at Tuttle Wealth Management LLC.

U.S. stocks climbed on Thursday, with the S&P 500 SPX +0.41% at 1,569.19, surpassing the record close set in October 2007 but failing to top an all-time intraday high of 1,579.09. At 14,578.54, the Dow Jones Industrial Average DJIA +0.36% also logged a record close Thursday. Trading was closed on Good Friday. In the first quarter, the S&P 500 rallied 10%, while the Dow industrials rose 11.3%. “There is not [something] a lot more significant than an all-time high,” said Tuttle, and “we would need something spectacular to get a big push” from here.

The outcome could help set the wheels in motion for a “continuation” of record-setting highs, or a “correction” from them, said Michael Gayed, co-portfolio manager of the ATAC Inflation Rotation Fund  -0.56% . As for what the jobs data will actually show, the market appears optimistic that the overall trend of improving numbers will remain intact.

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