April was a good month - the Dow Jones finished April 2.5% higher, the S&P 500 logged a monthly gain of 1.5% and the Nasdaq ended the month slightly higher. Corporate earnings have been positive and inflation seems to be staying in check. This week, investors will be watching a few things specifically, 1.) Wednesday's Federal Reserve announcement on interest rates, likely one last small increase of 0.25%, 2.) trouble appearing again in the banking industry, this time with First Republic Bank, the second largest bank failure in US history and 3.) more earnings reports from corporations, including Apple, Uber and Starbucks.
Economic reports from last week came back mixed: •Manufacturing (Dallas) - lower than expectation •Consumer Confidence - lower than expectation •Consumer Sentiment - in-line with expectation •Single-Family Home Values - higher than expectation •New Home Sales - higher than expectation •Pending Home Sales - higher than expectation •Personal Income - higher than expectation •Jobless Claims - lower than expectation This week, investors will look for guidance from economic reports like Construction Spending, Vehicle Sales, Job Openings, Employment, Consumer Credit and Jobless Claims.