Stocks Down as Unemployment Rate Jumps to 4.4%

First Look

Futures for the major equity indices are trading below break even Friday morning. The monthly Employment Situation Report showed the economy lost 701,000 jobs in March, bringing the unemployment rate up to 4.4%. The March data was collected prior to the last two weeks when there were 10 million new claims for unemployment. The S&P is down -0.37%, the Nasdaq is down -0.41%, the Dow Jones is down -0.52%.

Today's Sentiment

Quote of the Day

Believe you can and you're halfway there
Theodore Roosevelt

Stocks on the Move

Apache Corporation (APA), Occidental Petroleum Corporation (OXY) and Twitter Inc (TWTR) are moving higher this morning, while ResMed Inc. (RMD), 3M Co (MMM) and Prudential Financial Inc (PRU) are headed lower. XP Inc (XP), Cabot Corp (CBT) and Lam Research Corporation (LRCX) were upgraded by analysts this morning, while United Rentals, Inc. (URI), Ralph Lauren Corp (RL) and Mohawk Industries, Inc. (MHK) were downgraded.

International Markets

Stocks in Asia are down. The Mumbai Sensex is down -2.39%, the Australia ASX All Ordinaries is down -1.58%, the Shanghai SE Composite Index is down -0.6% the Hang Seng is down -0.44% and the Nikkei 225 is up 0.01%.In Europe stocks are mixed. The DAX is up 0.11%, the Euro Stoxx 50 is down -0.29%, the CAC 40 is down -0.64% and the FTSE 100 is down -0.97%.

Futures & Currencies

Energy futures are up today. The price for West Texas Intermediate crude oil is up 4.94 at 26.57 per barrel. Brent crude is up 9.72 at 32.85 per barrel. Natural Gas is up 0.77 at 1.56. Precious metals are mixed this morning. Gold is up 0.11 at 1615.59 per ounce. Platinum is down -0.71 at 725.79 while silver is up 0.48 at 14.73. The dollar is up compared to the major currencies today. The greenback is up against the euro, up against the Yen and up against the Pound.

Put/Call Ratio

Yesterday, 882,468 call contracts traded on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) compared to 755,713 put contracts. The single-session put/call was 0.86.

Today's Economic Calendar

Earnings Expected Today