The S&P 500 continued its surge to new all-time highs last week as big banks kicked off what analysts expect to be an impressive first-quarter earnings season.
In an interview that aired last Sunday evening, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said it is “highly unlikely” the Fed will raise interest rates in 2021. Powell said the Fed is committed to near-zero interest rates and $120 billion per month in bond purchases despite growing investor concerns about inflation.
Cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global went public via a direct listing on the Nasdaq on Wednesday. The company began trading with a reference price of $250 per share and a roughly $86 billion valuation, but Coinbase closed out the week at around $340 per share.
Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies once again hit record highs last week in the wake of the Coinbase listing. The price of Dogecoin, a cryptocurrency that was created as a joke, spiked more than 500% over a seven-day stretch to reach a roughly $50 billion market cap.
On Thursday, the Census Bureau reported that U.S. retail sales jumped 9.8% in the month of March, far exceeding economist expectations of 5.9% growth. Retail sales growth was driven in part by $1,400 direct government stimulus payments.
Wells Fargo earnings shine
Wells Fargo was the biggest winner in a strong earnings week for big bank stocks, gaining more than 6% after the company reported better-than-expected first-quarter earnings and revenue numbers.
This week, earnings season ramps up with reports from Coca-Cola on Monday, Verizon on Wednesday and AT&T and Intel on Thursday.
Analysts estimate S&P 500 companies will report 6.4% revenue growth in the first quarter of 2021, according to FactSet.
Economic numbers
Investors will get more key international economic updates this week on Tuesday when the People’s Bank of China issues its latest interest rate decision and on Thursday when the European Central Bank releases its own interest rate decision and accompanying monetary policy statement.
Benzinga is a financial news and data company headquartered in Detroit.
Read or Share this story: https://www.freep.com/story/money/business/michigan/2021/04/17/bitcoin-other-cryptocurrencies-hit-record-highs/7234413002/
