Market Roundup: Down Week Nearly Erases Year-to-Date Gains

Economy/Stock Market

The week began with a pullback in oil prices, which eroded the market’s recent rally. Commodities prices slipped, weighing on Energy and Materials shares. Many investors took comfort in Friday’s solid reading on U.S. manufacturing activity and the March jobs report, which further eased worries about the strength of the U.S. economy. However, concerns about sluggish global growth remained. The decline continued Tuesday with every sector in the S&P 500 falling, all but erasing the index’s gains for the year. The two-day losing streak was snapped Wednesday, led higher by Healthcare sector stocks. Minutes from the Federal Reserve’s March meeting showed policymakers left interest rates unchanged and reduced the number of planned rate increases to two from four. The market’s gains were short-lived as Financials and Energy stocks led the decline on Thursday. Friday’s gains were not enough to push the week into green territory, despite the rally in West Texas Intermediate crude.