Market Recap for Week Ended April 13:

Tech rebound
Information technology stocks were among the biggest gainers of the week, as concerns about data privacy eased and the stocks recovered some of their recent losses. Tech’s comeback was reflected in the nearly 3% weekly gain for the NASDAQ, which is weighted more heavily in tech than other major indexes.

Nearly even YTD
With the market’s latest gains, the S&P 500 and the Dow remained negative year to date but were within close range of possibly returning to positive territory. However, the two indexes were around 8% below their record highs reached before the market correction of early February.

Volatility dissipates
Although stocks made some big daily moves during the latest week, investors’ expectations of near-term volatility decreased markedly, as measured by the Cboe Volatility Index. The VIX dropped about 17% from its close of the prior week to a level that was in line with its historical average.

Bank earnings
Some of the nation’s biggest banks reported first-quarter results in the kickoff to an earnings season that’s expected to be a strong one for the financials sector. Analysts expect the sector to report a 20% overall increase in earnings compared with last year’s first quarter, according to FactSet. That exceeds expectations of 17% earnings growth for companies across all sectors of the S&P 500.

Source: John Hancock Investments, https://wmr.jhinvestments.com