Eddid Financial·2025-04-21 11:06Macro Data - In March, retail sales increased by 1.4% month-on-month, the largest increase in nearly 26 months, attributed to consumers stocking up on goods before price hikes due to tariffs [8][12] - The initial jobless claims for the second week of April were 215,000, better than the expected 225,000, indicating a stable job market [8][12] - New housing starts in March decreased by 11.4% to an annualized rate of 1.324 million units, below the expected 1.42 million units, impacted by rising material prices and high inventory levels [8][12] Market Sentiment - The Economic Policy Uncertainty Index (EPU) has a 7-day moving average of 579 points, slightly down from the previous week's high of 703, indicating high uncertainty regarding tariff policies [13][15] - The AAII survey shows that 56.9% of retail investors are bearish on the stock market, while only 25.4% are bullish, reflecting a continued spread of pessimism [13][16] - The Fear and Greed Index closed at 21 points, remaining in the 'extreme fear' zone for four consecutive weeks [17][18] Global Market Overview - Global equity markets rose by 0.3% last week, with emerging markets outperforming developed markets (2.1% vs. 0.1%) [19][21] - Gold prices continued to rise, increasing by 3.0% last week, while Bitcoin futures rose by 1.6% [21] - The S&P 500 index fell by 1.5%, entering a sideways consolidation phase, while the Hang Seng Index also experienced a decline of 0.5% [21][23] Industry Performance - Among 36 secondary industries in the US stock market, 21 saw gains, with transportation, real estate investment trusts, and oil and petrochemicals performing well [22][23] - The strongest sectors included pharmaceuticals, transportation, and oil and petrochemicals, with pharmaceuticals seeing an estimated daily fund intensity of approximately $20.7 billion [29][30] S&P 500 Valuation - As of last week, the S&P 500's trailing PE ratio was 24.1, slightly below the ten-year average of 24.5, indicating reasonable but not undervalued conditions [32][34] - The forward PE ratio decreased from 20.2 to 20.0, a decline of about 1.0%, while forward EPS slightly fell from $266 to $265, a decrease of about 0.5% [32][36] Earnings Performance - 12% of S&P 500 companies reported Q1 2025 earnings, with 71% exceeding expectations, though this is below the 5-year average of 77% [37][39] - In terms of revenue, 61% of companies reported actual revenues exceeding expectations by 0.5%, lower than the 5-year average of 69% [39][41] Q2 2025 Earnings Expectations - The highest expected year-on-year earnings growth for Q2 2025 is in the communication services sector at 28.8%, followed by information technology at 17.1% [42][43] - The energy sector is expected to see the highest decline in earnings at -18.1% for Q2 2025 [42][43]