John Hancock: Weekly Market Recap Week Ended April 24th

More legislative relief

As the official U.S. coronavirus death toll topped 50,000, the House on Thursday followed the Senate’s lead in approving another infusion of aid, and the measure was signed into law on Friday. The $484 billion bill replenishes two depleted small business-relief programs, offers additional assistance to hospitals, and funds an expansion of coronavirus testing capacity.

Earnings scorecard

It’s the peak of earnings season, with 172 companies in the S&P 500 Index and 12 of the Dow’s 30 components scheduled to report quarterly results in the week that starts April 27. Companies in the S&P 500 are expected to report an overall 15.8% earnings decline by the time all first-quarter results have been released, according to FactSet.

Slipping back

Stocks couldn’t maintain the momentum from a pair of big back-to-back weekly gains, as the S&P 500 and the Dow both fell modestly, losing less than 2%; the NASDAQ’s decline was less than a percentage point. Rallies on Wednesday and Friday weren’t enough to offset big sell-offs on Monday and Tuesday.

Fed ahead

In the wake of emergency cuts that reduced its benchmark interest rate to near zero, the U.S. Federal Reserve is expected to keep rates unchanged when it concludes a regular meeting on Wednesday. Fed statements will be closely watched for any indications as to the central bank’s next moves to help stabilize the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Source: https://wmr.jhinvestments.com/