Shutterstock
Stocks rise, Gold moves to near record high, Retail slumps for 2nd-straight month, Major banks top earnings estimates, Mortgage demand rises after interest rates drop, Postage rates rising again, and More Financial News
Stocks were down early on Friday, then began to recover after a mixed start, Yahoo Finance reported.
The Dow was up 47.95 points or +0.14%, while the S&P 500 advanced 13.90 points or +0.34%, and the NASDAQ rose 16.89 points or +0.14%, as of 9:50 AM EDT.
The benchmark 10-Year Treasury was up +0.047 for a yield of 3.498%, while the 2-Year Treasury rose +0.116 for a yield of 4.091% as of 9:40 AM EDT on Friday.
In oil futures, the benchmark Brent crude was up +0.34% and trading at $86.38 a barrel, while WTI crude was up +0.75% and trading at $82.78 a barrel as of 8:42 AM CDT on Friday.
Gold was near a one-year high on Friday, against a weak dollar, as it moved towards a second-straight weekly rise, CNBC reported. As of 9:46 AM EDT on Friday, gold was down -14.595 or -0.7155% at 2025.89.
US retail sales fell more than expected in March, with consumers cutting back on purchases of motor vehicles and other big-ticket items, suggesting inflation and higher interest rates are driving a slowing of the economy, Yahoo Finance reported. Last month, retail sales dropped 1.0%, according to the Commerce Department, while revised data for February showed retail sales fell 0.2% instead of 0.4% as previously reported. It should be noted that retail sales are mostly goods, typically purchased on credit and not adjusted for inflation. March marked the second straight monthly decrease.
J.P. Morgan Chase reported a record revenue, while Citigroup and Wells Fargo beat profit estimates for the first quarter.
J.P. Morgan Chase, the largest bank in the US, posted a profit of $12.6 billion or $4.10 per share, up from $8.3 billion, or $2.63 per share from the same period a year before, or 52%, CNN Business reported.
Citigroup beat Wall Street expectations earning more from borrowers paying higher interest on loans, as its net interest income rose 23% to $13.3 billion. Citigroup earned $1.86 per share in the first quarter, beating analysts’ average estimate of $1.67, while net income rose 7% to $4.6 billion, or $2.19 per share, Yahoo Finance reported.
Wells Fargo shares rose 3% premarket trading after the bank topped Wall Street expectations with $20.73 billion in revenue and earning $1.23 per share, with its net income increased by more than 30% to nearly $5 billion in the first quarter from a year ago, CNBC reported.
Demand for home mortgage applications jumped 8% last week compared to the prior week after interest rates dropped to a two-month low. The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-right mortgage decreased from 6.40% to 30%, CNBC reported.
The U.S. Postal Service filed a notice with regulators this week to increase prices on first-class mail stamps to 66 cents from 63 cents, citing the need to offset a rise in operating expenses, CNN Business reported. Domestic postcards will also increase from 48 cents to 51 cents, and international postcards from $1.45 to $1.50. If approved, the changes would go into effect in July, raising the cost of mailing a first-class letter by roughly 5.4%.
