Markets Start Short Week With Mixed Results

Markets got off to a mixed start this short trading week with the Dow Jones Industrial Average gaining 0.30% and the NASDAQ losing 0.60%. Major indices opened lower today but recovered some of those losses later in trading.

The container ship, Ever Given, was finally freed in the Suez Canal Monday after being partially re-floated earlier in the day. President Biden is expected to unveil another stimulus plan later this week with a focus on infrastructure. Offsetting some of the positive news was Archegos Capital Management failing to meet a margin call on Friday, leading to $20 billion worth of block trades. The trades primarily consisted of selling Chinese tech firms and U.S. media companies. Shares of several large banks fell after the news as investors speculated about which financial institutions may be subject to losses from the fund's blowup.

Can’t Get Enough Stimulus

President Biden is set to unveil another relief bill on Wednesday that will focus on transportation plans to rebuild infrastructure. The new stimulus package will reportedly focus on rebuilding roads, bridges, etc. over the next ten plus years. Biden wants plans centered around longer-term projects in order to give firms confidence to make investments.

Tom Conway, United Steel Workers president, said he has discussed plans with the administration and the labor union is in agreement with Biden’s proposal. Conway also went on to say the Biden administration is looking to spend roughly $3 trillion on infrastructure as the country's infrastructure has needed investments for years. While Biden plans on spending nearly $3 trillion, the proposed package on Wednesday will likely be half or less of that total number. A second bill will be announced at a later date that will focus more on schools as opposed to transportation-focused infrastructure.

The proposed stimulus package comes after former President Trump previously voiced intentions for a $1 trillion infrastructure focused bill that never came to fruition.

Recovering Jobs

The big market data released this week will be the March Employment Situation Summary on Friday April 2. However, investors will have to wait until next week for the market’s reaction to the jobs report as markets are closed April 2 for Good Friday. Economists are expecting a gain of 630,000 jobs in March which would be the most since October. In comparison, the economy added 379,000 jobs in February while estimates were for only 200,000. Experts are primarily citing strong vaccination distribution growth and new stimulus checks as reasons for increased consumer spending and added jobs. The unemployment rate is expected to fall to 6.0%, down from 6.2% in February.

In addition to the March jobs report, the ADP Employment Change will be released this week on Wednesday and analysts expect 500,000 jobs to be added in the private sector. Finally, initial unemployment claims will be revealed on Thursday for last week, estimates are for 696,000 new claims.