Markets: It was an up week for the market, as ongoing hopes for an oil production freeze, and better economic results from China served to give investors renewed confidence.
Dividend Stocks Update: These high dividend stocks go ex-dividend this coming week: Comtech Telecommunications Corp (NASDAQ:CMTL), Horizon Technology Finance (NASDAQ:HRZN), Harvest Capital Credit Corporation (NASDAQ:HCAP), LTC Properties Inc (NYSE:LTC), Main Street Capital Corporation (NYSE:MAIN), Pembina Pipeline Corp (NYSE:PBA)
Volatility: The VIX fell 11% this week, finishing at $13.62.
Currency: The US dollar rose vs. the yen, euro and Swiss franc, and fell vs. the Aussie and NZ dollars, the loonie, and the pound, helping Basic Materials rise this week.
Market Breadth: 24 of the DOW 30 stocks rose this week, vs. 9 last week. 75% of the S&P 500 rose this week, vs. 26% last week.
US Economic News: New Unemployment Claims fell more than expected, along with Consumer Sentiment, while Retail Sales disappointed – Auto sales dropped 2.1%, the biggest drop since Feb. 2015.
Week Ahead Highlights: All eyes are on the Sunday, 4/17/16 “Oil Freeze” meeting in Doha. Will the Iranians agree to a freeze, will they even show up, to duke it out with arch rival Saudi Arabia? This economic soap opera will certainly affect the market somehow next week. Maybe we’ll start seeing oil minister action figures on the market soon… Earnings season heats up, with over 100 S&P firms reporting, and half of the DOW 30 reporting. Notable reporting companies include Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP), Hasbro (NASDAQ:HAS), IBM (NYSE:IBM), Alphabet (NASDAQ:GOOGL), and Netflix (NASDAQ:NFLX). Reuters reports that, “analysts’ negative revisions in estimates may be bottoming out. Estimates for the first quarter dropped by 3.1 percentage points from the beginning of December to mid-January, but estimates for the second quarter fell just 0.9 points from March 1 to now, Thomson Reuters data shows.
Next Week’s US Economic Reports:
Sectors and Futures:
Financials and Basic Materials led this week, as Consumer Staples trailed.
Soybean meal led this week, with natural gas trailing:
