Yahoo Finance US Dollar Gains as Energy SPDR Indexes Rise
US Dollar Rises: Markets Brace for Non-Farm Payroll above 200,000
US dollar gains ahead of NFP release
US Markets were trading on a higher note on May 5, 2016, buoyed by a rise in energy and healthcare stocks. Crude oil prices were also defying the strength in the dollar, trading higher by 1.4% during the day. The upcoming non-farm payroll data, expected to be released on Friday, will be important criteria in determining the momentum in the Market going forward.
The Federal Reserve will be looking at growth in the labor market and how jobs have grown in the last month to determine its stance before its next monetary policy meeting. Non-farm payrolls are expected to increase by 202,000 for April, slightly lower than the increase of 215,000 in March. The unemployment rate is expected to remain at 5%.
On May 5, 2016, at 1:00 PM EST, the S&P 500 VIX Index fell 1.4%. The S&P 500 Futures Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose slightly by 0.1%. NASDAQ futures were trading flat after opening higher. The US dollar index was seen gaining against a basket of currencies and rose 0.5%.
Initial jobless claims rise
The number of people filing claims for benefits related to unemployment rose by 17,000 in the week ended April 30, 2016. It stood at 274,000, higher than expectations of 260,000. However, the week marks the record of 61 consecutive weeks of initial claims releasing below 300,000, the highest since 1973.
Impact on ETFs across sector SPDR indexes
The energy and healthcare sectors traded positively on May 5. The SPDR S&P Oil & Gas Exploration & Production ETF (XOP) was the outperformer for the day. It rose 2.2% at 1:00 PM EST. The Energy Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLE) rose 0.76%. The Health Care Select Sector SPDR ETF (XLV) rose 0.42% during the day.
Among the major sector-specific SPDRs trading negatively, the SPDR S&P Retail ETF (XRT) fell 1.6%. The SPDR S&P Biotech ETF (XBI) and the SPDR S&P Metals & Mining ETF (XME) fell 0.51% and 0.44%, respectively, on May 5 at 1:00 PM EST.
Next, let’s look at the Latin American markets, which remain bearish even as commodities are rising.
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