Good Monday A.M.,
The DOW has come back to unchanged from being down a couple of hundred points early on. Tech stocks are strong and pulling the NASDAQ into positive territory. Bonds are fading fast as the 10-yr has jumped to .72%, mortgage bonds are -30bps on the day. While I am not a fan of seeing bonds sell off and rates jump a little, it is encouraging to see a more normalized trading pattern. That said, the weakness in bonds is likely also tied to the Fed backing off its bond purchase program. We were at 50b per day and are now at 25b per week. The market overall is showing some signs of concern over the reopening of the economy. We are seeing signs in other parts of the world that reopening the economy too soon can and is causing a second wave of cases. The other side of this is that opening too slowly will keep the economy from turning around anytime soon. We cannot open fast enough to undo much of the massive damage already suffered. The balance is impossible to find. New cases and illness from opening too soon, or more economic pain which will also cause sickness and death by shutting down the economy.
The positive spin is that we know, always know, that the United States is the most resilient country in the world and we will all make it through this temporary period.
Some interesting employment data on the back of last Friday’s jobs report shared by the WSJ worth sharing:
Please remain safe and healthy and make today great!