Last Week Risers & Fallers:
- Dow Jones – The stock market was mixed this week. However, the Dow Jones gained 153.3 points or 0.44% on Friday to reach 34,861.44.
- Apple (NASDAQ: APPL) – Apple’s stock gained 0.37% on Friday, trading at $174.72 per share at the close. Apple stocks are trading just below their buy points.
- Crude oil – Crude oil gained another 0.23% on Friday and currently trades at $112.60 per barrel.
- USDCAD – The US dollar gained slightly against the CAD; weakening oil prices caused the US dollar to rebound against the Canadian dollar. The pair lost 0.4% on Friday and is trading at 1.2474.
Major events to watch:
- USA (USD): ADP Nonfarm employment change – The ADP National Employment Report measures the monthly change in non-farm, private employment based on the payroll data of approximately 400,000 U.S. business clients. Two days ahead of government data, the release is a good predictor of the government’s non-farm payroll report. The change in this indicator can be very volatile. The last number was 475K which was better than the forecast of 378K.
The report is due Wednesday, 30 March, at 12:15 GMT.
- JAPAN (YEN): Japan Tankan Large Manufacturers Index – The Tankan Large Manufacturing Index rates the relative level of general business conditions in the manufacturing sector. On the index, a level above zero indicates improving conditions; below indicates worsening conditions. The data is compiled from a survey of about 1,200 large manufacturers. The last number was 18, lower than the forecast of 19.
The report is due Thursday, 31 March, at 23:50 GMT.
- USA (USD): US Unemployment rate – The Unemployment Rate measures the percentage of the total unemployed workforce actively seeking employment during the previous month. The last rate was 3.8%, better than the forecast of 3.9%.
The report is due Friday1, April, at 12:30 GMT.
