Brief
This report covers the 18th week of the year spanning Friday, April 28th, through Friday, May 5th, 2023.
- The Federal Reserve increases rates 25 basis points
- Coinbase sues the SEC (Article from Inside Bitcoin)
- Solana (SOL) is the top performing asset up 129.2% YTD
- The US National Debt reported by the Treasury department shows the debt has been higher than the approved congressional limit for over 14 weeks
Economic Reports
Monday May 1st
- Construction Spending for March increased 0.3%, more than the expected increase of 0.1% and more than last month’s decrease of 0.3%
- ISM Manufacturing Index for April was 47.1%, more than the expected 46.8% and more than last month’s 46.3%
Tuesday May 2nd
- Factory Orders for March increased 0.9%, less than the expected increase of 1.4% and more than last month’s decrease of 1.1%
- JOLTS – Job Openings for March were 9.590M, less than last month’s 9.974M
Wednesday May 3rd
- ADP Employment Change for April increased 296K, more than the expected increase of 142K and more than last month’s increase of 142K
- ISM Non-Manufacturing Index for April was 51.9%, which matched expectations and was a little more than last month’s 51.2%
- FOMC Rate Decision The Fed increased rates 25 basis points to a target rate of between 5.00-5.25%
Thursday May 4th
- Initial Jobless Claims for last week decreased by 16,000 to 230,000 new claims, less than the expected 245,000
- Continuing Jobless Claims decreased by 3,000 to 1.858 million
- GDP-Adv. for Q1 increased 1.1%, less than the expected increase of 2.0% and less than last week’s increase of 2.6%
- Chain Deflator-Adv. for Q1 increased 4.0%, more than the expected increase of 3.7% and more than last week’s increase of 3.9%
- Pending Home Sales for March decreased 5.2%, less than the expected increase of 1.0% and less than last month’s increase of 0.8%
Friday May 5th
- Nonfarm Payrolls for April increased 253K, more than the expected increase of 180K and more than last month’s increase of 165K
- Nonfarm Private Payrolls for April increased 230K, more than the expected increase of 160K and more than last month’s increase of 123K
- Unemployment Rate for April was 3.4%, less than the expected 3.6% and less than last month’s 3.5%
- Average Workweek for April was 34.4, less than the expected 34.5 and less than last month’s 34.4
- Avg. Hourly Earnings for April increased 0.5%, more than the expected increase of 0.3% and more than last month’s increase of 0.3%
- Consumer Credit for March increased $26.5B, more than the expected increase of $17.5B and more than last month’s increase of $15.1BConsumer Credit for March increased $26.5B, more than the expected increase of $17.5B and more than last month’s increase of $15.1B
Next Week’s Major Reports
- CPI – Wednesday May 10th
- PPI – Thursday May 11th
- Univ. of Michigan Consumer Sentiment (April Preliminary) – Friday May 12th
See more Economic News at Briefing.com or learn about each economic report on our education page
US Stocks
US stocks were down an average of 0.72% this week. Information Technology posted the largest gain of the week, up 0.60% while Energy was hit hard, falling 5.81%.
| Index | Week Close | Week Change | Change % | Low | Week Range | High | YTD Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DJIA | 33,674.38 | -423.78 | -1.24% | 32,937.50 | 34,257.83 | 1.59% | ||
| Nasdaq | 12,235.41 | 8.83 | 0.07% | 11,925.37 | 12,264.83 | 16.90% | ||
| S&P 500 | 4,136.25 | -33.23 | -0.80% | 4,048.28 | 4,186.92 | 7.73% | ||
| Wilshire 5000 | 40,768.03 | -296.02 | -0.72% | 40,006.22 | 41,052.39 | 7.08% |
| Index | Week Close | Week Change | Change % | Low | Week Range | High | YTD Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Communication Services | 193.81 | -4.54 | -2.29% | 191.90 | 198.20 | 21.61% | ||
| Consumer Discretionary | 1,148.40 | -4.02 | -0.35% | 1,125.90 | 1,148.40 | 14.21% | ||
| Consumer Staples | 803.74 | -3.46 | -0.43% | 796.63 | 807.92 | 3.16% | ||
| Energy | 617.15 | -38.05 | -5.81% | 600.65 | 646.97 | -8.21% | ||
| Financials | 536.83 | -14.59 | -2.65% | 524.05 | 549.94 | -5.78% | ||
| Health Care | 1,556.81 | 1.42 | 0.09% | 1,542.58 | 1,564.51 | -1.81% | ||
| Industrials | 841.93 | -4.18 | -0.49% | 829.44 | 850.77 | 1.27% | ||
| Information Technology | 2,665.88 | 15.93 | 0.60% | 2,595.47 | 2,665.88 | 22.73% | ||
| Materials | 501.50 | -5.56 | -1.10% | 493.32 | 506.87 | 2.44% | ||
| Real Estate | 234.77 | -1.97 | -0.83% | 229.12 | 234.77 | 1.03% | ||
| Utilities | 350.42 | 0.16 | 0.05% | 345.58 | 350.98 | -2.25% |
Global Stocks
European stocks were largely down a little this week while Asian stocks were largely up a little.
| Index | Week Close | Week Change | Change % | Low | Week Range | High | YTD Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK FTSE 100 | 7,778.38 | -92.19 | -1.17% | 7,691.25 | 7,898.69 | 4.38% | ||
| France CAC 40 | 7,432.93 | -58.57 | -0.78% | 7,316.14 | 7,505.92 | 14.82% | ||
| Spain IBEX 35 | 9,147.30 | -93.70 | -1.01% | 8,967.30 | 9,264.90 | 11.16% | ||
| Germany DAX 40 | 15,961.02 | 38.64 | 0.24% | 15,662.32 | 16,011.56 | 14.63% | ||
| India BSE Sensex | 61,054.29 | -58.15 | -0.10% | 61,002.17 | 61,797.91 | 0.35% | ||
| China Shanghai Comp | 3,334.50 | 11.23 | 0.34% | 3,302.03 | 3,364.14 | 7.94% | ||
| HK Hang Seng 50 | 20,049.31 | 154.74 | 0.78% | 19,538.72 | 20,286.46 | 1.35% | ||
| Japan Nikkei 225 | 29,157.95 | 301.51 | 1.04% | 29,016.83 | 29,278.80 | 11.74% | ||
| Australia ASX 200 | 7,220.00 | -89.20 | -1.22% | 7,141.80 | 7,368.00 | 2.58% |
Currencies
The US Dollar (USD) fell globally this week only remaining flat against the Euro (EUR).
| Currency | Week Close | Week Change | Change % | Low | Week Range | High | YTD Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAD Canadian Dollar | 1.3376 | -0.0172 | -1.27% | 1.3372 | 1.3656 | -1.31% | ||
| MXN Mexican Peso | 17.7604 | -0.2354 | -1.31% | 17.7458 | 18.0771 | -8.86% | ||
| COP Colombian Peso | 4,528.00 | -172.50 | -3.67% | 4,512.54 | 4,728.58 | -6.61% | ||
| BRL Brazilian Real | 4.9519 | -0.0363 | -0.73% | 4.9260 | 5.0531 | -6.30% | ||
| GBP British Pound Sterling | 0.7916 | -0.0043 | -0.54% | 0.7903 | 0.8042 | -4.23% | ||
| EUR Euro | 0.9076 | 0.0000 | 0.00% | 0.8985 | 0.9139 | -2.87% | ||
| CHF Swiss Franc | 0.8909 | -0.0035 | -0.39% | 0.8819 | 0.8996 | -3.70% | ||
| CZK Czech Koruna | 21.2233 | -0.1298 | -0.61% | 21.1643 | 21.5600 | -5.96% | ||
| NOK Norwegian Krone | 10.5710 | -0.0936 | -0.88% | 10.5591 | 10.8321 | 7.77% | ||
| SEK Swedish Krona | 10.1712 | -0.0935 | -0.91% | 10.1505 | 10.3485 | -2.55% | ||
| RUB Russian Ruble | 77.81 | -2.16 | -2.70% | 76.20 | 80.70 | 5.51% | ||
| SAR Saudi Riyal | 3.7504 | -0.0004 | -0.01% | 3.7482 | 3.7547 | -0.20% | ||
| AED UAE Dirham | 3.6725 | 0.0002 | 0.01% | 3.6718 | 3.6730 | 0.00% | ||
| INR Indian Rupee | 81.73 | -0.01 | -0.01% | 81.65 | 81.95 | -1.23% | ||
| THB Thai Baht | 33.86 | -0.28 | -0.82% | 33.63 | 34.27 | -2.20% | ||
| SGD Singapore Dollar | 1.3263 | -0.0084 | -0.63% | 1.3240 | 1.3372 | -1.09% | ||
| MYR Malaysian Ringgit | 4.4370 | -0.0235 | -0.53% | 4.4350 | 4.5510 | 0.73% | ||
| CNH Chinese Yuan | 6.9227 | -0.0053 | -0.08% | 6.8962 | 6.9646 | 0.02% | ||
| HKD Hong Kong Dollar | 7.8481 | -0.0017 | -0.02% | 7.8469 | 7.8514 | 0.54% | ||
| KRW South Korean Won | 1,317.96 | -20.22 | -1.51% | 1,315.55 | 1,344.20 | 4.44% | ||
| JPY Japanese Yen | 134.86 | -1.45 | -1.06% | 133.50 | 137.77 | 2.85% | ||
| AUD Australian Dollar | 1.4817 | -0.0303 | -2.00% | 1.4797 | 1.5136 | 1.13% | ||
| NZD New Zealand Dollar | 1.5893 | -0.0312 | -1.93% | 1.5833 | 1.6234 | 0.92% |
* Rates are quoted as the amount of local currency to buy 1 US Dollar.
Commodities
- Average US Regular Gas Price – decreased 5.6 cents or -1.53% this week to $3.600 a gallon. See more about US Regular Gas Prices.
- EIA Crude Oil Inventories – decreased by 1.28M barrels last week compared to prior week decrease of 5.05M
- EIA Natural Gas Inventories – increased 54 bcf last week compared to prior week increase of 79 bcf (billion cubic feet)
| Commodity | Week Close | Week Change | Change % | Low | Week Range | High | YTD Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gold | 2,024.80 | 25.70 | 1.29% | 1,985.70 | 2,085.40 | 10.88% | ||
| Silver | 25.93 | 0.70 | 2.79% | 24.82 | 26.44 | 7.86% | ||
| Platinum | 1,068.30 | -21.80 | -2.00% | 1,042.70 | 1,103.80 | -1.35% | ||
| Palladium | 1,486.80 | -23.10 | -1.53% | 1,405.00 | 1,514.00 | -17.31% | ||
| Crude Oil | 71.34 | -5.44 | -7.09% | 63.57 | 76.69 | -11.11% | ||
| Natural Gas | 2.3210 | -0.2570 | -9.97% | 2.2330 | 2.5820 | -43.45% | ||
| Lumber | 358.50 | 6.70 | 1.90% | 335.10 | 366.40 | -4.07% | ||
| Steel (HRC) | 1,101.00 | 32.00 | 2.99% | 1,070.00 | 1,118.00 | 47.98% | ||
| Copper | 3.8830 | -0.0075 | -0.19% | 3.8250 | 4.0050 | 1.90% | ||
| Corn | 5.9650 | 0.1150 | 1.97% | 5.6925 | 5.9925 | -12.09% | ||
| Wheat | 6.6025 | 0.2650 | 4.18% | 6.0375 | 6.6350 | -16.64% | ||
| Soybeans | 14.3650 | 0.1725 | 1.22% | 13.9225 | 14.4000 | -5.74% | ||
| Coffee | 1.8805 | 0.0210 | 1.13% | 1.8110 | 1.8925 | 12.40% | ||
| Cattle | 1.6193 | -0.0355 | -2.15% | 1.6120 | 1.6578 | 2.55% | ||
| Lean Hogs | 0.8378 | -0.0793 | -8.64% | 0.8325 | 0.9143 | -4.48% |
Interest Rates
- Federal Funds Effective Rate – increased this week to 5.08% with the target rate now between 5.00-5.25% since the May 3rd, 2023 increase of 25 basis points. See more about the Federal Funds Rate.
- 30 Year Average US Mortgage Rates – decreased this week to 6.39% from 6.43% last week. Learn more about 30 year mortgage rates.
- MBA Mortgage Applications Index – decreased by 1.2% this week compared to the prior week increase of 3.7%
| Maturity | Week Close | Week Change | Low | Week Range | High | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US 1 Month | 5.397% | 1.211% | 4.109% | 5.438% | ||
| US 3 Month | 5.225% | 0.164% | 5.011% | 7.959% | ||
| US 1 Year | 4.752% | -0.013% | 4.565% | 4.898% | ||
| US 5 Year | 3.409% | -0.084% | 3.206% | 3.650% | ||
| US 10 Year | 3.440% | 0.018% | 3.292% | 3.595% | ||
| US 30 Year | 3.756% | 0.079% | 3.661% | 3.859% |
Cryptocurrencies
- Total Crypto Market Cap – increased 1.82% or 21.9B this week to 1,224B
- Bitcoin Supply – 6,071 more Bitcoin have been mined this week, the total supply is now 19,358,826 out of the max supply of 21M. The max supply is 92.18% mined.
| Rank* | Crypto | Week Close | Week Change | Change % | % of Market** | Low | Week Range | High | YTD Performance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BTC | 29,534.38 | 194.12 | 0.66% | 46.70% | 27,680.79 | 29,952.03 | 78.48% | ||
| 2 | ETH | 1,995.06 | 102.55 | 5.42% | 19.61% | 1,809.19 | 1,998.41 | 66.70% | ||
| 3 | BNB | 326.94 | 2.44 | 0.75% | 4.16% | 320.72 | 339.39 | 32.71% | ||
| 4 | XRP | 0.4678 | -0.0125 | -2.60% | 1.98% | 0.4514 | 0.4851 | 37.63% | ||
| 5 | ADA | 0.3947 | -0.0102 | -2.52% | 1.12% | 0.3794 | 0.4146 | 60.12% | ||
| 6 | DOGE | 0.0804 | 0.0000 | 0.04% | 0.91% | 0.0773 | 0.0819 | 14.37% | ||
| 7 | MATIC | 0.9989 | 0.0000 | 0.00% | 0.75% | 0.9494 | 1.0222 | 31.69% | ||
| 8 | SOL | 22.83 | -0.54 | -2.31% | 0.74% | 21.28 | 23.93 | 129.22% | ||
| 9 | DOT | 5.8538 | -0.0948 | -1.59% | 0.56% | 5.5704 | 6.0826 | 35.82% | ||
| 10 | LTC | 88.84 | -0.89 | -0.99% | 0.53% | 85.59 | 91.46 | 26.91% |
* Rank is based on market cap of non-stablecoins.
** Represents the % of the total crypto market cap
Other Fascinating Stats
The US National Debt decreased 0.53 billion (Wednesday Apr 26th to Wednesday May 3rd), to a total debt of $31,457,486,656,663.50 according to the Treasury Department. The National Debt has surpassed congresses approved debt limit of 31.381 trillion for over 14 weeks now. See the Debt to the Penny.
The number of solar Sunspots (magnetic storms on the surface of the sun) increased this week to 139 from 136 last week, the sun has had 0 spotless days in 2023. See more about Sunspots and space weather.
NASA has cataloged 0 new exoplanets this week, the total remains at 5,338 confirmed and catalogued Exoplanets across 4,134 confirmed Planetary Systems. 97 Exoplanets have been confirmed this year so far and there are 9,618 Exoplanet Candidates being evaluated for confirmation an increase of 175 since last week. Learn about all of the Exoplanets from NASA’s Exoplanet Catalog.