Evening Market Recap - Thursday, 9-Apr

Why It Matters

The rally underscores AI‑fuelled growth as a new market catalyst, while mixed treasury results and upcoming inflation data could shape risk sentiment in the weeks ahead.

Key Takeaways

• US equities rose, S&P 500 posted seventh consecutive gain.
• Big‑tech leaders Amazon and Meta drove market strength with AI demand.
• Treasury auction showed slight tail; 30‑year bid‑to‑cover weakened.
• Gold, silver, Bitcoin rose while energy commodities lagged sharply.
• Goldman Sachs expects CTAs to buy $34 billion of S&P next week.

Summary

The FactSet evening market recap highlighted a broadly positive U.S. equity session on Thursday, April 9, with the S&P 500 extending its winning streak to seven days and all major indices posting gains. The Dow rose 0.58%, S&P 500 up 0.62%, Nasdaq 0.83%, and Russell 2000 0.60%, keeping the S&P within 2% of its January 27 all‑time high.

Sector performance was mixed but tilted higher: big‑tech names Amazon and Meta led gains, while semiconductors, banks, machinery, retail, and home‑building stocks also outperformed. Conversely, software faced pressure amid renewed AI disruption debates, and energy, agriculture, and several consumer‑discretionary categories lagged. Treasury markets were mixed; the 30‑year auction showed a modest tail with a bid‑to‑cover ratio below recent norms, and the dollar index slipped. Commodities saw gold up 0.9%, silver 1.4%, Bitcoin futures 1.4%, while WTI crude jumped 3.7% after a prior 16.4% drop.

Key corporate headlines reinforced the AI narrative: Amazon’s CEO highlighted soaring compute demand and a $50 billion annual run‑rate for its chip business; Meta and CoreWeave expanded their AI infrastructure partnership to $21 billion; Google and Intel deepened their AI cloud collaboration. Goldman Sachs noted that CTAs are poised to purchase $34 billion of S&P exposure this week, flipping from short to long. Meanwhile, macro data showed weekly jobless claims at 219,000, slightly above expectations, and the final Q4 GDP revision slipped to a 0.5% annualized rate.

The market’s upward bias reflects optimism around AI‑driven compute demand, easing geopolitical tensions in the Middle East, and supportive positioning dynamics. However, lingering concerns over software valuations, energy price volatility, and upcoming CPI data could temper enthusiasm. Investors will watch whether the AI tailwinds sustain equity momentum and how the Treasury’s auction outcomes influence fixed‑income pricing.

Original Description

US equities were higher in Thursday trading, ending somewhat off best levels. The market was helped by some easing of ceasefire durability concerns related to Lebanon. In macro news, weekly initial jobless claims printed at 219K, above the 210K consensus.