Nasdaq Leads The Way As Yields Decline Following ECB Decision To Increase Bond Buys

Nasdaq Leads The Way As Yields Decline Following ECB Decision To Increase Bond Buys

A year ago today, the pandemic slammed home for millions of Americans as the professional basketball season got suspended with some games halfway through and others about to tip off. Covid ended up being sort of the ultimate Black Swan, or exceptional event, for the markets. It was something we haven't seen for over 100 years, in terms of a pandemic. As incredible (and tragic) as Covid turned out to be, the way the market has come out of it is absolutely amazing. Barring any dramatic turnaround, it looks like the market's pandemic plunge is going to be a proverbial blip in the long-term charts. Basically, we saw a breathtaking two-month drop followed by 10 months of rally thanks to quick fiscal and monetary stimulus accompanied by unprecedented medical progress. As one pundit said, the vaccine is the stimulus. Getting back to the present, yesterday's tepid inflation data (see more below) helped soothe worries, while the big data today is jobless claims. The report showed 712, 000 new claims, down from an upwardly revised 754, 000 the prior week. It's good to see claims fall, but the slight increase in the earlier number isn't great news. On the other hand,