A week packed with U.S. economic data is likely to provide investors with more evidence of the extent to which the coronavirus pandemic has hit growth, sharpening the debate on whether a rebound in stocks has been justified amid an unprecedented slowdown.
“The market has shown an ability to look through the economic data. I think it will continue to do that for the April data,” said Doug Cohen, managing director for portfolio management at Athena Capital Advisors. Economists polled by Reuters expect retail sales to tumble 10% in April, surpassing the record drop of 8.4% in March. Industrial production, which slipped 5.4% in March, is forecast to fall 11.6%.
“Markets are suffering from cognitive dissonance,” said Rob Almeida, global investment strategist for MFS Investment Management, which manages about $470 billion in assets. “Even if you reopen economies... you are not going to have economic normalization in the second or third quarter.” Some recent economic data has also eased from the jarring levels of several weeks ago, though they remain weak by historical standards.
globeinvestor The market isn't *roaring*. The DOW down 6000 pts from Feb, and TSX down 4000 pts. Yes, it's up from it's lows, but isn't close to recovery. If you paid 300K for your house, then collapsed to only be worth 200K, then came back to 250k, would you say real estate is roaring?!?