Stocks fell on Thursday as as traders weighed mixed earnings results from big banks against red hot inflation. The S&P 500 Index fell over 1%, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq Composite declined over 0.3% and 2%, respectively.
For the week, the S&P 500 is down 2% after Tuesday's CPI report showed that prices rose by the most since 1981 in March. Meanwhile, the Nasdaq also fell over 2% and the Dow ended the week flat. Wall Street is closed on Friday.
Here's how the market settled to close out the shortened week:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
Consumer sentiment unexpected bounced in earlier April:
U.S. consumer sentiment unexpectedly rose in early April as more Americans had a positive outlook for wage growth amid a strong labor market.
The University of Michigan's preliminary consumer sentiment index reading climbed to 65.7 for April, up from March's final print of 59.4. Director Richard Curtain noted that the month's improved outlook was driven by a 29.4% jump in economic view for the year ahead and a 17.2% increase in personal financial expectations.
Retail sales rise in March despite inflation pressures:
U.S. consumers continued to spend in March even as inflation rose to its highest level in 40 years during the same period, according to the latest data released by the U.S. Commerce Department published Thursday.
Retail sales rose 0.5% month-over-month in March, marking a declaration from February's upwardly revised 0.8% gain. For the year, retail sales rose 6.9%, the highest level since December 1981.
Still, retail sales are not adjusted for inflation. For example, the biggest gain in sales for March came from gas stations, which saw a 8.9% increase in sales as gas prices soared 18.3% during the month. The energy sector has seen a 37% sales increase year-over-year.
New jobless claims tick higher, remain at over 50-year lows:
New jobless claims rose at a slightly more-than-expected rate last week, but remained near a 54-year low set earlier in the month.
Initial unemployment claims totaled 185,000 for the week ended April 9, according to the Labor Department's latest report published Thursday. That print was above the previous week's revised total of 167,000.
Continuing jobless claims fell for the week ended April 2, totaling 1.475 million, which was below the previous week's print of 1.523 million.
Elon Musk offers to takeover Twitter, plans to take the company private:
Tesla
Musk's offer represents a 38% premium to Twitter's April 1 close, the last trading day before he revealed he had taken a near 10% stake in the social media giant.
"I invested in Twitter as I believe in its potential to be the platfrom for free speech around the globe, and I believe free speech is a societal imperative for a functioning democracy," Musk wrote in a letter to Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor, the filing disclosed. "However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company."
"My offer is my best and final offer and if it is not accepted, I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder," he added. "Twitter has extraordinary potential. I will unlock it."
Here's how benchmarks started trading after market open:
S&P 500 Index
Dow Jones Industrial Average
Nasdaq Composite Index
