Economic concerns both domestically and abroad weighed on stocks and exchange traded funds in April; however, strong quarterly earnings helped par losses felt earlier in the month.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average ended April unchanged. The S&P 500 slipped back 0.7%, while the Nasdaq Composite declined 1.1%.
April started off on the first quarter highs, but the Federal Open Meeting Committee’s announcement of no further stimulus pulled on the overall equities markets.
However, the March payroll growth came in at a seven month low, sending stocks downward early April. The combination of weak employment along with little prospects for additional stimulus posed as a structural risks to stocks.
In mid-April, the markets oscillated with the strong U.S. corporate earnings results and another bout of Eurozone problems – this time centered around Spain’s finances.