SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

After breathing a collective sigh of relief following Wednesday’s Federal Reserve meeting and Powell’s remarks, investors now anxiously await the April jobs report slated for release on Friday at 8:30 a.m. The condition of the U.S. labor market continues to display signs of robust health and moderate tightness. The previous five labor market reports have consistently surpassed expectations in the pace of growth for new non-farm payrolls, while the unemployment rate remains near record lows. Looking at the last three reports, the monthly average has stood at 267,000 nonfarm payrolls, with the six preceding reports averaging just below 250,000. Can the April report uphold this favorable trajectory? And, how might markets respond? April Jobs Market Report: What Do Economists Expect? Consensus among economists suggests that the pace of increase in nonfarm payrolls for April will ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

Related tickers: SPY.

As we enter May, the old Wall Street adage “sell in May and go away” is finding its way back into the conversations of traders and investors. The strategy suggests the stock market tends to underperform from May through October compared to the November through April period. A deeper dive into historical data and market trends suggests the trade may not always be the wisest course of action. Sell In May And Go Away: Historical Performance The sell in May and go away strategy is rooted in historical stock market patterns. George Smith, a portfolio strategist at LPL Financials, highlights that since 1950, the May-October period has been the weakest six-month cycle in the stock market. In contrast, the November-April period sees far stronger stock returns. “Unless investors can seek superior returns in other asset classes, being out of the equity market may not have been the best strategy,” Smith says. The expert remarks that average returns for the S&P 500 index during the May-October months have remained positive, recording 1.8% gains since 1950 and approximately 4.4% over the last five and 10 years. The S&P 500 Index has recorded a cumulative six-month average gain of 6.7% in the period between November to April, the Corporate Finance Institute ...Full story available on Benzinga.com

Related tickers: SPY.