Thursday's Markets Update (April 13, 2023)

15 Apr 2023 by rate3

Thursday was a day when fundamentals met technicals. Not only did the BLS surprise markets (forecasts were +0.1) by reporting PPI fell by 0.5% in March, while the core PPI declined 0.1% - the first decrease in two years, marking the biggest decline since April 2020, but also the number of unemployment benefits rose by 11K to 239K, exceeding market expectations of 232K.

Most of the decline can be attributed to a decrease in gasoline prices (-11.7%), with prices for services also getting lower (-0.3%) - the largest decline since April 2020, mainly due to a 7.3% drop in margins for vehicle wholesaling. NASDAQ reacted by rising 1.4% from 11997 to 12166, while BTC, still constrained by low volumes, ranged during the daily session (o:30272, c:30335) but then continued to edge towards 31K after hours.