This edition features our outlook for the repair and remodeling market; the banking industry; Amazon's path ahead; and notes from Lumen, Canopy, and new coverage MongoDB.

The S&P 500 rallied in March to finish with a 4.2% gain, but it was not straightforward. The ongoing sector shift helped keep investors in the blue chip equity market even as they were ditching last year's stalwarts. Fan-favorite Amazon, for instance, is down 3% year-to-date, while Tesla is down 6%. Long-neglected Energy and Financial Services stocks are out in front, with first-quarter sector gains of 33% and 14%, respectively. Growth-centric sectors Consumer Discretionary and Technology showed late-March strength, however, and are each up about 5% year-to-date.

Stocks Inch to New Highs amid New Concerns

Last week was a wild affair, as major stock indices saw multiple reversals. After Friday's surge, the S&P 500 actually made a very marginal (less than 1 point) all-time high, though many other indices are still in short-term downtrends.

Stocks fell on Monday morning, led by the Financial sector, amid concerns about the impact of the default on margin calls of hedge fund Archegos Capital. Credit Suisse and Nomura Holdings both fell sharply after the companies said that they could face significant first-quarter losses, and other banks could also be affected. The Dow fell 0.1%, the S&P 0.3%, and the Nasdaq 0.7%. Crude oil traded near $61 per barrel, while gold fell $23 to $1710 per ounce.

President Joe Biden is preparing to announce an infrastructure-rebuilding plan that he estimates will create up to 10 million clean energy jobs. The following areas of the economy stand to benefit from the government spending, which could total as much as $4 trillion. The first element of the plan is improving the country's infrastructure, from roads and bridges to water systems and electricity grids.

Stocks erased morning losses to close higher on Thursday. The energy sector was the worst performer and tech shares also lagged. On the employment front, the Labor Department said that first-time claims for state unemployment benefits fell to 684,000 for the week ended March 20, down from 781,000 a week earlier and below the Bloomberg consensus forecast of 730,000. This was the lowest number since before the pandemic. The GDP increased at an annual rate of 4.3% according to the third estimate, up from the second estimate of 4.1%. Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated that the Fed is committed to targeting 2% average inflation rate. The Dow rose 0.6%, the S&P 0.5%, and the Nasdaq 0.1%. Crude oil settled at $58 per barrel, while gold fell nearly $8 to $1725 per ounce.

Stocks fell on Thursday morning for a third consecutive day, led by the Technology sector. Fed Chair Jerome Powell reiterated that the Fed is committed to targeting 2% average inflation rate. On the employment front, the Labor Department said that first-time claims for state unemployment benefits fell to 684,000 for the week ended March 20, down from 781,000 a week earlier and below the Bloomberg consensus forecast of 730,000. This was the lowest number since before the pandemic. The Dow fell 0.4%, the S&P 0.4%, and the Nasdaq 0.8%. Crude oil traded near $58 per barrel, while gold rose $3 to $1736 per ounce.

Wednesday was another disappointing day for stocks, as early gains evaporated. Market breadth fell off a cliff, finishing with NYSE decliners exceeding advancers by 350 issues after hitting a robust +1,700 earlier in the day. The Nasdaq (-2%), the Nasdaq 100 (-1.7%), and the Russell 2000 (-2.3%) once again bore the brunt of the selling, while the S&P 500 (-0.6%) continued to hold up better than the other indices.

Stocks rose on Wednesday morning, led by the Energy and Industrial sectors, amid a second day of congressional testimony from Fed Chair Jerome Powell and Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen. IHS Markit said that its flash manufacturing purchasing managers' index rose to 59 in the first half of March, up from 58.6 in February but slightly below the Reuters consensus forecast of 59.3. The Commerce Department also reported a 0.8% decline in core capital goods orders last month, down from growth of 0.6% in January. The reading also missed the consensus forecast of 0.5% growth. The Dow rose 1.0%, the S&P 0.7%, and the Nasdaq 0.1%. Crude oil traded near $60 per barrel, while gold rose $5 to $1730 per ounce.

Isn't March supposed to go out like a lamb? Market breadth was very weak on Tuesday, with NYSE decliners beating advancers by more than 1,900. We also saw a number of indices, as well as crude oil, either break down from small head-and-shoulders (H&S) patterns and/or see 5-day/13-day exponential moving-average crossover sell signals.

Even with indices bobbing around all-time highs, the stock market continues to meander and has not gotten much done of late. That said, successful rotation has kept breadth strong. Most stocks are trading above their long-term support. In the near-term, though, the market is showing some wear and tear.