Today was an uninspiring day for stock investors as the major indices—the Nasdaq 100 (QQQ), the S&P 500 (SPY), and the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DIA)—finished today’s trading mixed. Interestingly, the energy (XLE) was the session’s leader, while the healthcare sector (XLV) was the laggard. In addition, trading volume was lower than the average for SPY and QQQ, but slightly above average for DIA.
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Interestingly, the U.S. job market remained fairly stable in early April, with new unemployment claims dropping by 9,000 to 215,000, which was better than expected. The four-week average of claims also fell slightly. However, more people continued to collect unemployment benefits, with continuing claims rising above the forecast to 1.885 million. Nevertheless, the overall insured unemployment rate stayed at 1.2%. At the same time, many Americans are pulling back on spending due to concerns about President Trump’s tariffs.
According to a Redfin (RDFN) survey, 24% of people are cancelling plans to buy big-ticket items like homes or cars, while another 32% are delaying them. More than half of those surveyed said that the tariffs make them less likely to make large purchases this year. Tariffs are also affecting the housing market, as new home construction fell by 11.4% in March, though building permits increased slightly and overall home completions remained strong. Unsurprisingly, Redfin warned that construction costs could rise significantly because of the tariffs.
Separately, Manufacturing businesses are also becoming more worried. The Philadelphia Fed’s latest survey showed a sharp drop in factory activity to -26 in April, which was its lowest level in a year and one of the biggest monthly declines ever. The New York Fed’s survey showed a similar trend, with current business activity improving a bit, but future expectations dropping sharply. Economists and Fed officials say that this uncertainty could lead companies and consumers to hold off on spending and investing, which might slow down the economy even more.