STOCKS/ECONOMY
-Stock futures are sharply lower again this morning after Thursday's 1,679-point loss for the Dow, larger 4.9 percent selloff for the S&P 500, and a 6 percent plummet for the Nasdaq. Investors this morning are specifically responding to China's announcement that it is retaliating with new tariffs against U.S. imports. Thursday's losses were the steepest for the Dow in nearly five years.
-The March jobs report showed a gain of 228,000 net new jobs, when just a 140,000 gain was expected.
-The yield on the 10-year Treasury bond is all the way down to 3.89 percent.
-Average 30-year mortgage rates fell to 6.63 percent Thursday and are headed lower again today.
-Gold is up and at the $3,129 per ounce level. Bitcoin is up and at the $82,300 level.
-Asian markets closed lower again today. The Nikkei sold off by 2.8 percent, the Hang Seng lost 1.5 percent, and the Shenzhen fell 1.4 percent.
OIL/ENERGY
-U.S. crude prices are down almost 8 percent and at the $61 a barrel level.
-Gasoline prices are holding for now at $3.26 a gallon, national average.
-Helge Lund is stepping down as the chairman of British Petroleum (BP) as activist investor Elliott Management pushes for more changes on the board. BP shares are down 5 percent in the premarket.
FACTORY EFFECT
-Chrysler/Jeep/Dodge parent Stellantis (STLA) is idling its Canadian and Mexican plants due to the tariffs. Its shares are down 6 percent in the premarket after losing 9 percent Thursday.
DOGE EFFECT
-Deloitte is cutting U.S. workers in its consulting business after the federal government demanded it find ways to shrink the cost of government projects it is working on.
REAL ESTATE SHIFT
-Morgan Properties, the country’s largest privately held apartment landlord, is reportedly paying $501 million for 11 multifamily properties across the Midwest. The company is making the move as it expects better job growth in the region and because supply in the coastal regions is still very tight.
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