Stocks Have a Rocky Day, but Cap a Strong Month

S&P up about 5% in April
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 30, 2021 3:08 PM CDT
Stocks Have a Rocky Day, but Cap a Strong Month
The New York Stock Exchange.   (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)

Stocks fell broadly Friday as investors backed away from technology and communications companies, per the AP. Despite the decline, the market had its best month so far this year, as investors remain optimistic that the pandemic is slowly and steadily coming to a close. For the day, the Dow fell 185 points to 33,874, the S&P 500 fell 30 points to 4,181, and the Nasdaq fell 119 points to 13,962. All the declines were under 1%. Still, the benchmark S&P was up about 5% in April, its best month since November 2020, when President Biden was elected. The gains have come as large-scale coronavirus vaccination programs help people return to jobs and normal behaviors after more than a year of restrictions.

“The broad story is one of case counts on the whole being lowered across the majority of the world and vaccines ramping up generally across the world and that's getting us back to normal,” said Jason Pride, chief investment officer of private wealth at Glenmede. There's also the trillions of dollars in government support that has gone out to help the US economy recover from the pandemic. The Commerce Department said US household incomes surged 21% last month, driven largely by the $1,400 payments that went out to most Americans as part of President Biden's economic package. Consumer spending rose at the fastest pace in nine months.

(More stock market stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X