Brian Szytel reviews a strong Thursday market rebound, with the Dow up 850 points and the S&P 500 and Nasdaq up about 1%, driven mainly by earnings, including a “Mag Seven” report that lifted the world’s largest search engine about 9% (a roughly $400B one-day market-cap gain). Economic data were supportive: initial jobless claims printed 189 versus 214 expected, personal spending was in line, personal income beat expectations, and March PCE inflation matched forecasts at 3.5% (3.2% ex-energy). GDP came in at 2.0% versus 2.3% estimated, with expectations for revisions and a Q1 composition heavily driven by equipment spending and IP investment tied to data centers and AI. He discusses the Fed holding rates, the politicization around Powell, and Kevin Walsh beginning as Powell’s term ends May 15.
00:00 Market Rally Recap
00:19 Big Tech Earnings Surge
00:59 Jobs and Inflation Data
02:08 GDP Print and Revisions
02:46 Fed Leadership and Politics
04:31 Powell Policy Critique
05:24 What Drove Q1 GDP
06:34 Closing and Weekend Signoff
Links mentioned in this episode: DividendCafe.com