Stocks headed south in a hurry yesterday afternoon amid rising Middle East tensions and the spike in oil prices they caused. But they’re trying to stabilize here on Friday. Gold and oil are flattish, while Treasuries are lower and the dollar is popping.
What’s behind that market action? We just got ANOTHER “beat” on jobs, with payrolls up 303,000 in March against an average forecast of 200,000. The unemployment rate also dipped to a slightly lower-than-forecast 3.8%, though average hourly earnings rose by an in-line 0.3%. This was definitely a “fewer/later Federal Reserve rate cuts in 2024” kind of economic release. But stocks took it in stride because they were “inoculated” by the prior-day selloff.
While we’re on the subject of the jobs market, a separate release yesterday suggested layoffs are on the rise. Outplacement firm Challenger, Gray, & Christmas said job cut announcements spiked 7% in March to 90,309, a 14-month high. Technology companies and the federal government led the way.
Source: Challenger, Gray, & Christmas
Tesla Inc. (TSLA) is reportedly considering building a new Electric Vehicle (EV) plant in India. The Indian government cut tariffs on imported EVs recently, but only for companies who showed a willingness to manufacture them domestically down the road. Tesla could spent $2 billion to $3 billion on the effort. It is already planning to open a factory in Mexico in 2026.
Forget Nvidia Corp. (NVDA). You could have made more money investing in a company offering...robotic salad bars?? That’s right! Shares of Sweetgreen Inc. (SG) have more than doubled so far this year on optimism about the company's Infinite Kitchen setup, which automates most of its salad bowl production. While it is only being rolled out in a few locations, company officials and analysts are optimistic it will increase speed and efficiency, while reducing labor costs.
