05Apr2021 Market Close: Oil Prices Plummet As COVID Cases Soar, WTI Settles At 58.75, DOW Closes At New High Up 374, Nasdaq +1.7%, Bitcoin Stable 59000

Written by Gary

DOW, SP 500 finish at record highs on brighter economic outlook (SPY +1.4%). Record high COVID cases could stall India’s oil imports, Iranian output weighs.

The Market in Perspective

Here are the headlines moving the markets.
	Is Venezuela Preparing For A Military Strike On Colombia? Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro is well-known for his saber-rattling, much of which is designed to distract Venezuelans from the severe economic crisis sweeping the country and the brutality of his autocratic regime. In recent weeks Venezuelan military and police have been conducting offensive operations in the southwestern state of Apure near the Colombian border. Aside from the humanitarian toll they are taking on the local civilian populace, they have sparked fears that Caracas is once again ramping up pressure on its perceived mortal enemy
	Oil Prices Plummet 5% As COVID Cases Soar Oil prices fell sharply on Monday afternoon in one of the worst trading days for the commodity since the day in May 2020 when WTI slipped into negative territory. WTI was trading down 5.22% around 2 p.m. on Monday, $3.24 per barrel down for the day at $58.21. The Brent benchmark was trading down 4.81% on the day, or $3.12 down per barrel at $61.79. The volatile price action was largely the result of oil demand fears. The U.K. announced that it may continue to ban foreign travel beyond the May 17 date if coronavirus infections continue to ramp up
	Record High COVID Cases Could Stall Indias Oil Imports India reported on Monday its highest number of new daily COVID-19 cases so far and put its largest city Mumbai on lockdown, potentially threatening fuel demand and crude oil imports in the worlds third-largest oil importer. Resurging coronavirus cases in recent weeks have combined with high fuel pricesdue to the rally in crude oil pricesto drag Indias oil demand down. The new strict measures in Indias financial center and most populous city are now set to further impact oil consumption and potentially oil imports
	Why The Suez Crisis Failed To Disrupt LNG Markets On the morning of March 23, the world was shaken by the unfortunate news of the Suez Canal being blocked. At 07.40 local time, the Ever Given ran aground when strong winds blew it off course. The importance of the Suez Canal to global shipping can hardly be underestimated. Pundits were quick to point out the blockade’s effect on global supply chains. Energy prices were anticipated to be impacted too. However, the blockade failed to significantly move oil and gas prices. Before the crisis with the Ever Given, on a daily basis, 10 percent of the
	Is The U.S. Finally Embracing Tidal Energy? The United States has made the first step toward harnessing the potential of wave energy, a powerful source of renewable energy which researchers have been studying for decades. The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) issued last month a license for what would be the first commercial-scale, utility grid-connected wave energy test site in the United States. Oregon State University received that license to build and operate the PacWave South testing facility as the industry is developing technology and devices potentially capable
	Lawsuits Pour In After Texas Freeze Pushes Bills Sky-High At least 30 lawsuits potentially worth billions of dollars have been filed in four states disputing responsibility for the massive electricity bills many Texans were hit with amid the freezing weather in February that caused power outages and a natural gas shortage, the Wall Street Journal reports. According to the report, some of the lawsuits accuse natural gas suppliers of price-gouging and overcharging utilities for the gas they supplied. One group of suits, filed by San Antonio-based utility CPS Energy, alleges that gas suppliers were profiteering
	Airline website booking functions restored after Google software issue Flight-search and booking functions on several major airlines’ websites have been restored after being down Monday due to problems with Google software.
	Local bar opening in rural Illinois was tied to at least 46 new Covid cases, CDC says The case provides more evidence of how weddings and gatherings at restaurants and nightclubs have the potential to become super-spreading events.
	Fauci says two doses of Pfizer’s or Moderna’s Covid vaccines are better than one to protect against variants Fauci said he is still concerned about how long immunity lasts after a single dose, especially with the emergence of highly contagious variants.
	Stocks making the biggest moves midday: Tesla, AMC Entertainment, Charles Schwab and more These are the stocks posting the largest moves in midday trading.
	More retail pain ahead: UBS predicts 80,000 stores will close in the U.S. by 2026 UBS predicts 80,000 retail stores will shut across the U.S. by 2026, assuming e-commerce sales rise to represent 27% of total retail sales, up from 18% today.
	How Dr. Scott Gottlieb protects his young kids on playdates before they can get Covid shots Dr. Scott Gottlieb on Monday explained how he’s trying to keep his three young daughters safe from Covid before their age groups can get vaccinated.
	Lockheed Martin buys up to 58 launches over the next decade from rocket builder ABL Space Rocket builder ABL Space signed a long-term agreement for up to 58 launches with Lockheed Martin, the company announced on Monday.
	Deepak Chopra: ‘We’re heading for a global disaster’ unless people address their total well-being Total well-being encompasses purpose “or career ” social, physical, community and financial factors, Chopra said.
	NBA issues second $3 million in grant program for Black communities to create jobs and career advancement The NBA will distribute over $3 million in grants as part of its 10-year, $300 million commitment to help Black people.
	AMC upgraded as ‘Godzilla vs. Kong’ renews confidence in the domestic box office “Godzilla vs. Kong” signals that consumers are eager to head to the cinemas for new movies and suggests the summer slate could see similar success.
	The U.S. is now averaging 3.1 million vaccine shots per day as Michigan and other states see outbreaks The U.S. is now averaging 3.1 million vaccine shots per day as Michigan and other states see outbreaks worsen.
	UK’s Boris Johnson ‘hopeful’ foreign travel can resume from May 17 U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson also confirmed that shops, hairdressers, gyms and outdoor hospitality venues like pubs could open from April 12 as planned.
	Dollar Dumped; Crude Crushed; Bonds, Bitcoin, & Big-Tech Bid Dollar Dumped; Crude Crushed; Bonds, Bitcoin, & Big-Tech Bid What a difference a weekend makes (and remember that most of Europe and Asia was also on holiday today too). The message from the market today to the reflation trade was simple… Small Caps puked back all their exuberant payrolls gains and big-tech (growth) was panic-bid today (dragging S&P and the Dow to new record highs)… For some context, the surge in Small Caps relative to Big-Tech during Friday’s futures session was utterly erasedÂ today, sending Nasdaq back to its strongest against the Russell 2000 since 3/25…
	Jobs To Reach Pre-Pandemic Levels By Year-End: BofA Jobs To Reach Pre-Pandemic Levels By Year-End: BofA Judging by the solid ascent in risk assets today, traders are confident that last Friday’s payrolls report was spectacular, or as BofA put it, “it was everything we could have hoped for” where in addition to a whopping 916K jobs added in March amid broad-based job creation, the unemployment rate fell to 6% from 6.2% while the underemployment rate (U6) declined to 10.7% from 11.1% (vs 7% pre-pandemic). The drop in the U-rate occurred despite a rise in the labor force participation rate to 61.5% from 61.4%; finally, the employment-to-population ratio ticked up to 57.8% (pre-COVID was 61.1% so still needs to move higher to correct fully). But we already knew all that: the real question is what does this report portend about the future, and here BofA comes out with a surprising finding: according to BofA’ Michelle Meyer, at this pace, “we will return to the pre-pandemic level of jobs by year-end” and the risk, according to BofA’s chief economist, “is that the rate of job growth actually accelerates further given the stimulus-induced boost to spending and economic reopening.” If BofA is correct, it means that payrolls for the rest of the year would look something like this (BofA forecast in red), as the US adds just over 930K jobs per month for the next 9 months.
	“It Was Intentionally False”: 60 Minutes Slammed For Fabricating “Pay-For-Play” Narrative Against Gov. DeSantis “It Was Intentionally False”: 60 Minutes Slammed For Fabricating “Pay-For-Play” Narrative Against Gov. DeSantis CBS News’ “60 Minutes” – which still hasn’t covered the New York nursing home scandal – has come under fire for fabricating a “pay for play” narrative that Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) gave preferential treatment to Publix to distribute the COVID-19 vaccine because they contributed to his campaign – and then edited out his perfectly reasonable explanation. In a deceptively edited segment that aired Sunday night, correspondent Sharyn Alfonsi barked questions at DeSantis during a March press conference, saying: “Publix, as you know, donated $100,000 to your campaign… And then you rewarded them with the exclusive rights to distribute the vaccination in Palm Beach “” In 60 Minutes’ deceptive edit, DeSantis appears to dodge the question. In reality, he notes that other retailers received contracts to distribute before Publix and that the recommendation to use the chain came f …
	Weinstein Appeals New York Rape Conviction As Lawyers Allege Biased Juror Misled Judge Weinstein Appeals New York Rape Conviction As Lawyers Allege Biased Juror Misled Judge Roughly 13 months after he was sentenced to more than 23 years in prison (an effective life sentence for the 69-year-old movie mogul) after being convicted of rape, nefarious former Hollywood super-producer (and Democratic mega-donor) Harvey Weinstein and his legal team filed an appeal on Monday. In the filing, lawyers for the mogul argued that his trial was tainted by the involvement of a juror who had published a book about the predations of older men against younger women. According to the 160-page appeal, Weinstein’s lawyers allege Juror Amanda Brainerd should have been removed from the jury pool due to the content of her debut novel, “Age of Consent,” which was published last year and tackled themes of sex and “predatory older men,” according to a description on the author’s website. In their appeal, Weinstein’s lawyers argued that Brainerd was not honest about the nature of the novel during jury selection and criticized New York Supreme Court Judge James Burke for failing to remove her from the jury pool after the def …
	‘Disappointed’ travel chiefs seek clarity from PM Leading travel industry figures react with dismay to Boris Johnson’s update on the lockdown roadmap.
	England’s lockdown to ease as planned on 12 April Outdoor hospitality, all shops, gyms and hairdressers can reopen but the PM warns against complacency.
	Covid in Scotland: Hairdressers and homeware shops reopen Non-essential click and collect services are also able to resume business as Covid restrictions ease.
	Oil slumps 5% as rising OPEC+, Iranian output weighs The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries and allies, known as OPEC+, agreed on Thursday to monthly production hikes from May to July. OPEC member Iran, exempt from making voluntary cuts, is also boosting supply.
	Cryptocurrency market cap hits record $2 trillion; bitcoin’s at $1.1 trillion At midday, the market cap was at $2.02 trillion. Bitcoin was last up 1.4% at $59,025, with a market cap of $1.1 trillion.
	GameStop to capitalize on ‘stonks’ rally with $1 bn stock sale plan GameStop stock has rampaged over 900% higher since January in highly volatile trading as amateur investors organized on social media sites such as Reddit staged a stubborn buying spree, winning out over Wall Street hedge funds that had shorted its shares.
	March 2021 ISM and Markit Services Surveys Show Improvement Written by Steven Hansen The ISM significantly improved and remained in expansion whilst the Markit PMI improved and advanced further into expansion.
	March 2021 Conference Board Employment Index: Strong Job Growth Predicted Written by Steven Hansen The Conference Board’s Employment Trends Index – which forecasts employment for the next 6 months – significantly increased with the authors saying “The Employment Trends Index significantly increased in March and signals that job growth will be very strong over the coming months”.
	Realtor.com: Jerry Seinfeld Selling His Terrific Telluride Vacation Home for $15M Here’s a way to be master of your domain: Snap up comedian Jerry Seinfeld’s domicile in Telluride, CO. The funnyman and his wife, the cookbook author Jessica Seinfeld, are asking a serious $14,950,000 for the 27-acre retreat. A separate, four-bedroom guesthouse adjoining the property is also available for $2.77 million, Mansion Global reports.
	: The world’s largest bitcoin manager vows to convert digital trust into an ETF The sponsor behind Grayscale Bitcoin Trust, one of the largest digital asset managers in the world, declares that it is œ100% committed to converting its flagship fund into an exchange-traded fund.
	Bond Report: U.S. Treasury yields pull back from intraday highs as rate-hike bets ease U.S. Treasury yields retreat on Monday, as investors looked past another round of improving economic data from the pandemic-battered services sector amid questions over whether traders who wagered on rate hikes were getting ahead of themselves.