Daily Market Color March 31, 2021Growth Stocks Rise to Close the First Quarter Rates continue to climb, stocks end mixed to cap eventful first quarter of 2021 Swap rates and Treasury yields continued their climb to cap off a quarter that has seen rates rise over 80 basis points at the long end of the curve. The 5-year and 10-year Treasury yields ended the day at 0.94% and 1.74% respectively- up dramatically from where they started the year. In equities, growth stocks ruled the day as investors favored tech stocks to end the quarter. The tech-heavy Nasdaq increased 1.5%, while the S&P finished higher at 0.36%, retreating from a record close just before the bell. President Biden releases detail of next stimulus President Biden gave details on his next large spending package focusing on infrastructure. The eight-year program will include $620 billion for transportation and $650 billion for clean water and high-speed broadband access. The program will currently require the corporate tax rate to increase to 28%, up from its current 21%. The spending package is expected to face an uphill battle in Congress, with several Democrats in the evenly split Senate already voicing their opposition to the bill. U.S. private companies add most jobs in six months The ADP announced today that U.S. private payrolls added 517,000 jobs in March, coming in below the median estimates of 550,000. Leisure and hospitality led the growth and is a positive sign of broad economic recovery as more economies open up in the coming months.
